The Illinois Fighting Illini’s best shot for a victory the rest of this season comes this weekend when they take on Big Ten West opponent Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota beat the Indiana Hoosiers last Friday night, pushing the Gophers’ record to 4-4. The Illini are coming off of a blowout loss to the Maryland Terrapins — the first ever matchup between those two teams.
As founding members of the Big Ten Conference, Illinois and Minnesota have been playing football against one another since 1898. The Gophers are winners of the last three against the Illini and hold the all-time series lead with 38 wins to Illinois’ 29 with three ties.