How Big was that win for Illinois?

I want to start out by saying this was one of the most spectacular weekends for football I could imagine.

My grad school, Wisconsin, beat Michigan, giving them their first Big Ten loss.

My 0-8 St. Louis Rams won a game.

I went to the Maryland game, and saw yet another upset.

But, by far, the highlight of the weekend was Illinois beating Ohio State.

Now, I'm no Illinois football historian by any means, but this is one of the biggest wins in the history of Illinois football.

- Illinois hadn't beaten a #1 ranked team since 1956.

- Illinois had NEVER beaten a #1 ranked team on the road.

A little more on Illinois football...

- Illinois has won four national championships outright.... but none since 1927. They won in one poll in 1951.

- They last won the Big Ten championship in 2001, when they went on to lose the Sugar Bowl. This year they will make their first bowl appearance since that season.

- They last won a bowl game, the MicronPC.com bowl, in 1999.

- They last went to the Rose Bowl in 1984.

They won't be winning the Big Ten, going to the Rose Bowl, or any other BCS bowl this year, but they're looking like the #3 team in the Big Ten (#2 if Michigan beats Ohio State). And more importantly, this is a very young team! They'll be a legit contendor to win the Big Ten next year.

Good times!