Minnesota was peaking and Illinois was fading fast. By the end of the 1941 season Minnesota would win its 6th national title while Illinois would be looking for its first coach in almost 3 decades.But on October 11th 1941 when the two teams lined up that future was a little less obvious.
The two teams had not played each other since 1924. Why? I spent the better part of a few hours trying to figure out how two teams from the same conference could go that long without meeting. With 6 Big Ten games per season and 8 or 9 other conference teams (8 after Chicago dropped football after 1939) it seems like it could hardly be a coincidence the two missed each other for 17 years.