This Saturday, the Illinois Fighting Illini will travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes in a series that really should have a name. Given that these states are so similar outside of Chicago and border each other, someone needs to engage in some kind of prank that generates a good old-fashioned rivalry trophy.
But from 2008 to 2014, the two schools didn’t play. They were both members of the Big Ten during this time, the scheduling just somehow lined up with the conference realignment such that Illinois met Iowa for the first time since 2008 a few years ago.