The Big Ten or Western Conference as it was then known was very much a regional conference until after World War II. However, Minnesota during the early 1900s was the top of the conference.
So when the Gopher five first played against Illinois on February 7, 1906 the Minneapolis Tribune previewed the game as an excellent test to gauge Minnesota against a tough team. It wasn’t much of a test as the Gophers won 31-19 and the Gophers ran away with the conference.
One of the best parts from this game is the complaining done about the referee.