Illibuck

Battle for Illibuck^[1]
	Illinois Fighting Illini Ohio State Buckeyes
First meeting	November 15, 1902; Tie, 0–0
Latest meeting	November 18, 2017; Ohio State, 52–14
Next meeting	October 11, 2025
Trophy	Illibuck
Statistics
Meetings total	103
All-time series	Ohio State leads, 68–30–4; 2010 vacated win not included
Trophy series	Ohio State leads, 64–23–2; 2010 vacated win not included
Largest victory	Ohio State, 48–0 (1996)
Longest win streak	Ohio State, 15 (1968–1982)
Current win streak	Ohio State, 8 (2008–present); 2010 vacated win not included

Last updated December 14, 2024

Illibuck is a trophy awarded to the winner of the college football rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Ohio State Buckeyes football teams.

History

The winning team in the Illinois-Ohio State game receives this wooden turtle, named the Illibuck. Illibuck.jpg — The winning team in the Illinois–Ohio State game receives this wooden turtle, named the Illibuck.

100km
62miles

Ohio State

Illinois

Locations of Illinois and Ohio State

The Illibuck is a carved wooden turtle that serves as the trophy awarded to the winner of the game. Two junior honorary societies, Bucket and Dipper of Ohio State and Atius-Sachem of Illinois, are responsible for the care of the Illibuck. Originally the "trophy" was a live turtle when the tradition began in 1925, picked for its expected long life as a symbol of the anticipated long life of the rivalry. From 1919 to 1933, the Illinois–Ohio State game was the regular-season finale for both teams. Since the original turtle's death on April 14, 1926,^[3] ten wooden replica Illibucks have been carved, each with the scores from games on its back.^[4] The Illibuck is the second oldest trophy passed between Big Ten Conference football programs (the Little Brown Jug was created in 1903).

The rivalry once included the smoking of a "peace pipe" between members of the two junior honorary societies, which occurred at halftime of the game. This practice has not been done for many years. However, the trophy is still presented to the winning school of the previous year's contest between quarters.

The series was temporarily interrupted during the 2003 and 2004 seasons when Ohio State and Illinois did not play each other. When the teams met in 2005, Illinois presented the trophy to Ohio State for winning the 2002 game. Ohio State leads the overall series 68–30–4 and the trophy series 63–23–2.

In 2011, the Big Ten expanded to 12 teams and split into two divisions. Ohio State and Illinois were both placed in the Leaders Division, meaning they would play each other every year. But in 2014, the league expanded to accommodate the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, which placed Illinois in the West Division and Ohio State in the East Division.^[5] Therefore, the two schools no longer met annually.

The teams went seven seasons without a match-up, from 2018 through 2024. The game scheduled for November 28, 2020, was cancelled by Ohio State due to a high number of COVID-19 cases among the program.^[6]

With the 2024 expansion of the Big Ten and removal of divisions, Ohio State and Illinois will now meet at least twice in each five-year cycle.^[7]

Game results

Illinois victories	Ohio State victories	Tie games	Vacated wins

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	November 15, 1902	Columbus	Tie	0–0
2	November 5, 1904	Columbus	Illinois	46–0
3	October 17, 1914	Champaign	Illinois	37–0
4	October 16, 1915	Columbus	Tie	3–3
5	October 21, 1916	Champaign	Ohio State	7–6
6	November 17, 1917	Columbus	Ohio State	13–0
7	November 16, 1918	Champaign	Illinois	13–0
8	November 22, 1919	Columbus	Illinois	9–7
9	November 20, 1920	Champaign	Ohio State	7–0
10	November 19, 1921	Columbus	Illinois	7–0
11	November 25, 1922	Champaign	Ohio State	6–3
12	November 24, 1923	Columbus	Illinois	9–0
13	November 22, 1924	Champaign	Illinois	7–0
14	November 21, 1925	Columbus	Illinois	14–9
15	November 20, 1926	Champaign	Ohio State	7–6
16	November 19, 1927	Columbus	Illinois	13–0
17	November 24, 1928	Champaign	Illinois	8–0
18	November 23, 1929	Columbus	Illinois	27–0
19	November 22, 1930	Champaign	Ohio State	12–9
20	November 21, 1931	Columbus	Ohio State	40–0
21	November 19, 1932	Champaign	Ohio State	3–0
22	November 25, 1933	Columbus	Ohio State	7–6
23	October 13, 1934	Champaign	Illinois	14–13
24	November 16, 1935	Columbus	Ohio State	6–0
25	November 14, 1936	Champaign	Ohio State	13–0
26	November 13, 1937	Columbus	Ohio State	19–0
27	November 12, 1938	Champaign	Ohio State	32–14
28	November 18, 1939	Columbus	#8 Ohio State	21–0
29	November 16, 1940	Urbana, Illinois	Ohio State	14–6
30	November 15, 1941	Columbus	#20 Ohio State	12–7
31	November 14, 1942	Cleveland, Ohio	#10 Ohio State	44–20
32	November 13, 1943	Columbus	Ohio State	29–26
33	November 18, 1944	Cleveland, Ohio	#4 Ohio State	26–12
34	November 17, 1945	Columbus	#9 Ohio State	27–2
35	November 16, 1946	Champaign	#9 Illinois	16–7
36	November 15, 1947	Columbus	Illinois	28–7
37	November 13, 1948	Champaign	Ohio State	34–7
38	November 12, 1949	Columbus	#11 Ohio State	30–17
39	November 18, 1950	Champaign	#8 Illinois	14–7
40	November 17, 1951	Columbus	Tie	0–0
41	November 15, 1952	Champaign	Ohio State	27–7
42	October 10, 1953	Columbus	Illinois	41–20
43	October 9, 1954	Champaign	#10 Ohio State	40–7
44	October 8, 1955	Columbus	Ohio State	27–12
45	October 13, 1956	Champaign	#5 Ohio State	26–6
46	October 12, 1957	Columbus	Ohio State	21–7
47	October 11, 1958	Champaign	#5 Ohio State	19–13
48	October 10, 1959	Columbus	#20 Illinois	9–0
49	October 8, 1960	Champaign	#5 Ohio State	34–7
50	October 14, 1961	Columbus	#7 Ohio State	44–0
51	October 13, 1962	Champaign	#10 Ohio State	51–15
52	October 12, 1963	Columbus	Tie	20–20
53	October 10, 1964	Champaign	#4 Ohio State	26–0

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
54	October 9, 1965	Columbus	Ohio State	28–14
55	October 8, 1966	Champaign	Illinois	10–9
56	October 28, 1967	Columbus	Illinois	17–13
57	October 26, 1968	Champaign	#2 Ohio State	31–24
58	October 25, 1969	Columbus	#1 Ohio State	41–0
59	October 24, 1970	Champaign	#1 Ohio State	48–29
60	October 9, 1971	Champaign	#15 Ohio State	24–10
61	October 14, 1972	Columbus	#4 Ohio State	26–7
62	November 3, 1973	Champaign	#1 Ohio State	30–0
63	November 2, 1974	Columbus	#1 Ohio State	49–7
64	November 8, 1975	Champaign	#1 Ohio State	40–3
65	November 6, 1976	Columbus	#8 Ohio State	42–10
66	November 5, 1977	Champaign	#4 Ohio State	35–0
67	November 11, 1978	Columbus	Ohio State	45–7
68	November 3, 1979	Champaign	#5 Ohio State	44–7
69	November 8, 1980	Columbus	#7 Ohio State	49–42
70	October 17, 1981	Columbus	Ohio State	34–27
71	October 16, 1982	Champaign	Ohio State	26–21
72	October 15, 1983	Champaign	#19 Illinois	17–13
73	October 13, 1984	Columbus	#8 Ohio State	45–38
74	October 5, 1985	Champaign	Illinois	31–28
75	October 4, 1986	Columbus	Ohio State	14–0
76	October 3, 1987	Champaign	#9 Ohio State	10–6
77	October 1, 1988	Columbus	Illinois	31–12
78	October 7, 1989	Champaign	#18 Illinois	34–14
79	October 6, 1990	Columbus	#13 Illinois	31–20
80	October 12, 1991	Champaign	#20 Illinois	10–7
81	October 10, 1992	Columbus	Illinois	18–16
82	October 9, 1993	Champaign	#6 Ohio State	20–12
83	October 8, 1994	Columbus	Illinois	24–10
84	November 11, 1995	Columbus	#2 Ohio State	41–3
85	November 9, 1996	Champaign	#2 Ohio State	48–0
86	November 15, 1997	Columbus	#4 Ohio State	41–6
87	October 10, 1998	Champaign	#1 Ohio State	41–0
88	November 13, 1999	Columbus	Illinois	46–20
89	November 11, 2000	Champaign	#13 Ohio State	24–21
90	November 17, 2001	Columbus	#12 Illinois	34–22
91	November 16, 2002	Champaign	#2 Ohio State	23–16
92	November 5, 2005	Columbus	#12 Ohio State	40–2
93	November 4, 2006	Champaign	#1 Ohio State	17–10
94	November 10, 2007	Columbus	Illinois	28–21
95	November 15, 2008	Champaign	#10 Ohio State	30–20
96	September 26, 2009	Columbus	#13 Ohio State	30–0
97	October 2, 2010†	Champaign	#2 Ohio State	24–13
98	October 15, 2011	Champaign	Ohio State	17–7
99	November 3, 2012	Columbus	#6 Ohio State	52–22
100	November 16, 2013	Champaign	#3 Ohio State	60–35
101	November 1, 2014	Columbus	#13 Ohio State	55–14
102	November 14, 2015	Champaign	#2 Ohio State	28–3
103	November 18, 2017	Columbus	#9 Ohio State	52–14
Series: Ohio State leads 68–30–4^[2]
† Ohio State's victory vacated due to use of ineligible players^[8]

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References

↑ "Battle for Illibuck – Men of the Scarlet and Gray.com". November 13, 2013.
1 2 "Winsipedia - Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes football series history". Winsipedia.
↑ "ILLIBUCK, WHICH DIED, TO BE AT OHIO GAME TODAY—BUT IN EFFIGY". Daily Illini. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
↑ "Bucket & Dipper". Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
↑ "Big Ten schools OK realignment, schedule". ESPN.com. April 28, 2013.
↑ "No. 3 Ohio State cancels Saturday's game at Illinois because of COVID-19 cases, putting the Buckeyes 1 cancellation away from being ineligible for the Big Ten title". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
↑ "Big Ten Conference Announces Future Football Schedule Formats for 2024-28". Big Ten Conference. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
↑ "Forfeits and Vacated Games". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] "Battle for Illibuck – Men of the Scarlet and Gray.com". November 13, 2013.

[series-2] 1 2 "Winsipedia - Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes football series history". Winsipedia.

[3] "ILLIBUCK, WHICH DIED, TO BE AT OHIO GAME TODAY—BUT IN EFFIGY". Daily Illini. Retrieved November 14, 2015.

[4] "Bucket & Dipper". Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2007.

[5] "Big Ten schools OK realignment, schedule". ESPN.com. April 28, 2013.

[6] "No. 3 Ohio State cancels Saturday's game at Illinois because of COVID-19 cases, putting the Buckeyes 1 cancellation away from being ineligible for the Big Ten title". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved November 27, 2020.

[7] "Big Ten Conference Announces Future Football Schedule Formats for 2024-28". Big Ten Conference. Retrieved December 13, 2024.

[8] "Forfeits and Vacated Games". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.

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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: Battle for Illibuck 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 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 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Ohio State Buckeyes football
Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois: Battle for Illibuck Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State
Culture & lore	History Block O Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" "Hang On Sloopy" Marching band Neutron Man The Ten Year War Snow Bowl (1950) 1969 Michigan game 1973 Michigan game The Kick Holy Buckeye 2005 Texas game 2006 Michigan game 2016 Penn State game
Media	WBNS-TV WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State Sports Network
People	Head coaches All-Century Team NFL draftees Statistical leaders Retired numbers
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 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 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

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 Minnesota–Penn State 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

Illibuck

Contents

History

Game results

See also

Related Research Articles

References

Statistics
Illinois Fighting Illini Ohio State Buckeyes
First meeting	November 15, 1902 Tie, 0–0
Latest meeting	November 18, 2017 Ohio State, 52–14
Next meeting	October 11, 2025
Trophy	Illibuck
Meetings total	103
All-time series	Ohio State leads, 68–30–4^[2] 2010 vacated win not included
Trophy series	Ohio State leads, 64–23–2 2010 vacated win not included
Largest victory	Ohio State, 48–0 (1996)
Longest win streak	Ohio State, 15 (1968–1982)
Current win streak	Ohio State, 8 (2008–present) 2010 vacated win not included