Even with a new head football coach The Fighting Illini have nothing on us
But the battle for the Illibuck Trophy just got more interesting
The University of Illinois named Lovie Smith head coach on Monday.
The deal would pay him $21 million over six years. This contract is significantly larger than the contract former head coach Tim Beckman and former interim head coach Bill Cubit received.
This is a huge upgrade at the coaching position for the Illini as Smith will bring NFL experience, similar to how Michigan upgraded its head coaching position last year with the signing of Jim Harbaugh.
Smith coached the Chicago Bears for nine years and led them to Super Bowl XLI where the Bears ultimately lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17. He also coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two years but only compiled an eight and 24 record.
In recent years the Illibuck Trophy has been dominated by Ohio State. The Buckeyes have beaten the Illini every year since 2007 (Except 2010 due to NCAA violations). Overall Ohio State leads the series 67-30-4.
Cardale Jones (a quarterback) laying the wood on an Illini defender in the 2014 matchup where the Buckeyes won 55-14 is the best example of our domination.
And that time they had to triple team Joey Bosa last year in a 28-3 win.
Ohio State will not play the University of Illinos in the upcoming season due a new conference format that placed the Buckeyes in the east division and the Illini in the west division.
However, expect battle for the Illibuck to be much closer when they eventually meet again.