Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry

American college football rivalry

Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry

Illinois Fighting Illini

Northwestern Wildcats

First meeting| October 12, 1892
Tie, 16–16
Latest meeting| November 25, 2023
Northwestern, 45–43
Next meeting| November 30, 2024
Trophy| Land of Lincoln Trophy
Sweet Sioux Tomahawk (former)
Statistics
Meetings total| 117
All-time series| Illinois leads, 57–55–5[1]
Largest victory| Illinois, 66–0 (1894)
Longest win streak| Illinois, 7 (1913–1928, 1979–1985)
Current win streak| Northwestern, 1 (2023–present)

100km
62miles

Northwestern

Illinois

Locations of Illinois and Northwestern

The Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry is a college football rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Northwestern Wildcats. The Land of Lincoln Trophy is presented to the winner of the game. The teams began competing for the new prize in 2009, replacing the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, which was used from 1945 to 2008.[2]

## Traveling trophies

[edit]

### Sweet Sioux Tomahawk

[edit]

The Sweet Sioux Tomahawk was presented to the winner of the annual football game between the two schools. The original trophy was a carved wooden "cigar store" Indian, but was stolen and replaced by a replica of a tomahawk.[3]

Northwestern won the Tomahawk first in 1945, beating Illinois 13–7 in Evanston. At the end of the 2008 football season, when the teams last played for the trophy, Illinois led the series 52–45–5, and 33–29–2 during the era of the Tomahawk. Northwestern narrowed the series record in the trophy's final years, winning five of the last six meetings.

The 2008 game in Evanston was the final time the two teams played for the Tomahawk, which Northwestern won 27–10. The NCAA mandated that all Native American imagery deemed hostile and abusive must be removed from college athletics, including the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk. Before the game, the schools agreed that Northwestern would be the trophy's permanent resting place. If Illinois had won the game, it would have surrendered the trophy to Northwestern after the on-field celebration.

### Land of Lincoln Trophy

[edit]

Beginning in 2009, the two schools played for the Land of Lincoln Trophy. The trophy's name derives from the official state nickname of Illinois and depicts a bronze replica of a stovepipe hat famously worn by Abraham Lincoln. It was designed by Dick Tracy cartoonist Dick Locher[4] and cast by sculptor Don Reed of River's Edge Foundry, Beloit Wisconsin.

Northwestern won the trophy in its inaugural game in 2009. The 2010 contest was played at Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs. It was the first football game at Wrigley Field since 1970 and the first collegiate football game at Wrigley Field since 1938.[5] The field used an east-west field configuration (home plate to right field). In order to keep the playing field at regulation size, the safety clearances for each end zone to the walls in the field were considerably less than normal. In particular, the east (right field) end zone came under scrutiny as its end zone was wedged extremely close to the right field wall (as close as one foot in some areas), forcing the goal posts to be hung from the right field wall in order to fit. Despite extra padding provided in these locations, it was decided that all offensive plays for both teams play to the west end zone, where there was more safety clearance. The east end zone could still be used on defensive touchdowns and punt returns, as well as defensive safeties; in fact, there was one interception run back for an eastbound touchdown.[6] Illinois won 48–27.

Since 2014, the game has become a division contest as Illinois and Northwestern are aligned into the Big Ten's Western division to accommodate the arrival of Maryland and Rutgers. The Big Ten announced its plans to realign its schools geographically in April 2013 in time for the 2014 football season.

## Game results

[edit]

1927 game at Northwestern

2010 game at Wrigley Field in Chicago 2016 game at Northwestern Illinois victories| Northwestern victories| Tie games

|
|

| No.| Date| Location| Winner| Score

|
|
|
|

1|  October 12, 1892 |  Champaign | Tie| 16–16
2|  October 21, 1893 |  Evanston | Tie| 0–0
3|  November 3, 1894 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 66–0
4|  November 23, 1895 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 38–4
5|  November 7, 1896 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 10–4
6|  October 20, 1900 |  Evanston | Tie| 0–0
7|  October 26, 1901 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 17–11
8|  November 22, 1902 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 17–0
9|  October 31, 1903 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 12–11
10|  November 12, 1904 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 12–6
11|  November 21, 1908 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 64–8
12|  November 13, 1909 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 35–0
13|  November 12, 1910 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 27–0
14|  November 18, 1911 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 27–13
15|  November 23, 1912 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 6–0
16|  October 18, 1913 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 37–0
17|  October 24, 1914 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 37–0
18|  October 23, 1915 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 36–6
19|  November 4, 1922 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 6–3
20|  October 27, 1923 |  Chicago |  Illinois | 29–0
21|  October 22, 1927 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 7–6
22|  October 27, 1928 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 6–0
23|  November 2, 1929 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 7–0
24|  October 18, 1930 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 32–0
25|  October 31, 1931 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 32–6
26|  October 15, 1932 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 26–0
27|  November 11, 1933 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 3–0
28|  November 10, 1934 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 14–3
29|  November 2, 1935 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 10–3
30|  October 24, 1936 |  Champaign |  #4 Northwestern | 13–2
31|  November 6, 1937 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 6–0
32|  October 22, 1938 |  Champaign |  #18 Northwestern | 13–0
33|  October 28, 1939 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 13–0
34|  November 9, 1940 |  Evanston |  #10 Northwestern | 32–14
35|  November 22, 1941 |  Evanston |  #10 Northwestern | 27–0
36|  November 7, 1942 |  Evanston |  #20 Illinois | 14–7
37|  November 20, 1943 |  Evanston |  #9 Northwestern | 53–6
38|  November 25, 1944 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 25–6
39|  November 24, 1945 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 13–7
40|  November 23, 1946 |  Evanston |  #5 Illinois | 20–0
41|  November 22, 1947 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 28–13
42|  November 20, 1948 |  Evanston |  #7 Northwestern | 20–0
43|  November 19, 1949 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 9–7
44|  November 25, 1950 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 14–7
45|  November 24, 1951 |  Evanston |  #6 Illinois | 3–0
46|  November 22, 1952 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 28–26
47|  November 21, 1953 |  Evanston |  #7 Illinois | 39–14
48|  November 20, 1954 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 20–7
49|  November 19, 1955 |  Evanston | Tie| 7–7
50|  November 24, 1956 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 14–13
51|  November 23, 1957 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 27–0
52|  November 22, 1958 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 27–20
53|  November 21, 1959 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 28–0
54|  November 19, 1960 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 14–7
55|  October 7, 1961 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 28–7
56|  October 6, 1962 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 45–0
57|  October 5, 1963 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 10–9
58|  October 3, 1964 |  Evanston |  #3 Illinois | 17–6
59|  November 20, 1965 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 20–6
No.| Date| Location| Winner| Score

|
|
|
|

60|  November 19, 1966 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 35–7
61|  November 18, 1967 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 27–21
62|  November 16, 1968 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 14–0
63|  October 11, 1969 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 10–6
64|  October 10, 1970 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 48–0
65|  October 30, 1971 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 24–7
66|  November 4, 1972 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 43–13
67|  November 24, 1973 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 9–6
68|  November 23, 1974 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 28–14
69|  November 22, 1975 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 28–7
70|  November 20, 1976 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 48–6
71|  November 19, 1977 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 28–6
72|  September 9, 1978 |  Champaign | Tie| 0–0
73|  November 17, 1979 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 29–13
74|  September 6, 1980 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 35–9
75|  November 21, 1981 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 49–12
76|  September 4, 1982 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 49–13
77|  November 19, 1983 |  Evanston |  #4 Illinois | 56–24
78|  September 1, 1984 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 24–16
79|  November 23, 1985 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 45–20
80|  November 22, 1986 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 23–18
81|  November 21, 1987 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 28–10
82|  November 19, 1988 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 28–13
83|  November 25, 1989 |  Evanston |  #11 Illinois | 63–14
84|  November 24, 1990 |  Champaign |  #22 Illinois | 28–23
85|  October 26, 1991 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 17–11
86|  October 24, 1992 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 27–26
87|  October 30, 1993 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 20–13
88|  October 29, 1994 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 28–7
89|  October 28, 1995 |  Champaign |  #8 Northwestern | 17–14
90|  October 26, 1996 |  Evanston |  #11 Northwestern | 27–24
91|  November 8, 1997 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 34–21
92|  October 3, 1998 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 13–10
93|  November 20, 1999 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 29–7
94|  November 18, 2000 |  Evanston |  #23 Northwestern | 61–23
95|  November 24, 2001 |  Champaign |  #10 Illinois | 34–28
96|  November 23, 2002 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 31–24
97|  November 22, 2003 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 37–20
98|  November 20, 2004 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 28–21
99|  November 18, 2005 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 38–21
100|  November 18, 2006 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 27–16
101|  November 17, 2007 |  Champaign |  #20 Illinois | 41–22
102|  November 22, 2008 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 27–10
103|  November 14, 2009 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 21–16
104|  November 20, 2010 |  Chicago |  Illinois | 48–27
105|  October 1, 2011 |  Champaign |  #24 Illinois | 38–35
106|  November 24, 2012 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 50–14
107|  November 30, 2013 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 37–34
108|  November 29, 2014 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 47–33
109|  November 28, 2015 |  Chicago |  #17 Northwestern | 24–14
110|  November 26, 2016 |  Evanston |  Northwestern | 42–21
111|  November 25, 2017 |  Champaign |  #22 Northwestern | 42–7
112|  November 24, 2018 |  Evanston |  #19 Northwestern | 24–16
113|  November 30, 2019 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 29–10
114|  December 12, 2020 |  Evanston |  #15 Northwestern | 28–10
115|  November 27, 2021 |  Champaign |  Illinois | 47–14
116|  November 26, 2022 |  Evanston |  Illinois | 41–3
117|  November 25, 2023 |  Champaign |  Northwestern | 45–43
Series: Illinois leads 57–55–5[1]

## See also

[edit]

* List of NCAA college football rivalry games
* List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Winsipedia – Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats football series history". Winsipedia.
2. ^ "Illinois and Northwestern Announce Football Series Trophy". NUsports.com. April 25, 2009. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009.
3. ^ "Sweet Sioux Tomahawk goes the way of Chief Illiniwek". Chicago Tribune. November 22, 2008.
4. ^ "Trophy to hang their hat on". Chicago Tribune. November 14, 2009.
5. ^ Muskat, Carrie (April 22, 2010). "Football returning to Wrigley Field". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
6. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (November 19, 2010). "Wildcats, Illini to use one end zone at Wrigley". ESPN Big Ten Blog.

* v
* t
* e

Illinois Fighting Illini football

Venues|

* Illinois Field (1890–1922)
* Memorial Stadium (1923–present)
* Soldier Field (1994–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Indiana
* Michigan
* Missouri
* Northwestern
* Ohio State: Illibuck Trophy
* Purdue

Culture & lore|

* Illinois Loyalty
* "Oskee Wow-Wow"
* Marching Illini
* Gene Honda
* Fighting Illini Sports Network
* Chief Illiniwek
* 1960s slush fund scandal
* 2021 Penn State game

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
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* 1921
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* 1923
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* 1926
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* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
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* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
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* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

National championship seasons in bold

* v
* t
* e

Northwestern Wildcats football

Venues|

* Northwestern Field (1905–1925)
* Ryan Field (1926–2023)
* Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium (2024–2025)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Illinois
* Michigan: George Jewett Trophy
* Notre Dame

Culture and lore|

* Willie the Wildcat
* "Go U Northwestern"
* Marching band
* 2006 Michigan State game

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1876
* 1877–1881
* 1882
* 1883–1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906–1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
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* 1978
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* 1987
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* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

* v
* t
* e

Big Ten Conference football rivalries

Protected conference rivalries|

* Illinois–Northwestern
* Illinois–Purdue
* Indiana–Purdue
* Iowa–Minnesota
* Iowa–Nebraska
* Iowa–Wisconsin
* Maryland–Rutgers
* Michigan–Michigan State
* Michigan–Ohio State
* Minnesota–Wisconsin
* Oregon–Washington
* UCLA–USC

Other conference rivalries|

* Illinois–Indiana
* Illinois–Michigan
* Illinois–Ohio State
* Indiana–Michigan State
* Maryland–Penn State
* Michigan–Minnesota
* Michigan–Northwestern
* Michigan–Penn State
* Michigan State–Penn State
* Minnesota–Nebraska
* Nebraska–Wisconsin
* Ohio State–Penn State

Non-conference|

* Alabama–Penn State
* Chicago–Michigan
* Chicago–Purdue
* California–UCLA
* Colorado–Nebraska
* Illinois–Missouri
* Indiana–Kentucky
* Iowa–Iowa State
* Kansas–Nebraska
* Kansas State–Nebraska
* Maryland–Navy
* Maryland–Virginia
* Maryland–West Virginia
* Miami–Nebraska
* Michigan–Notre Dame
* Michigan State–Notre Dame
* Missouri–Nebraska
* Nebraska–Oklahoma
* Northwestern–Notre Dame
* Notre Dame–Purdue
* Notre Dame–USC
* Oregon–Oregon State
* Northwest Championship (Oregon–Oregon State–Washington–Washington State)
* Oregon–Saint Mary's
* Penn State–Pittsburgh
* Penn State–Syracuse
* Penn State–West Virginia
* Old Ironsides (Penn State–Pittsburgh–West Virginia)
* Princeton–Rutgers
* Stanford–USC
* Washington–Washington State

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