Ranking Iowa’s 2014 football games: No. 7 Illinois

This is a 12-to-1 countdown of Iowa's most-appealing football games this season. No. 1 is the most-appealing. We started with No. 12 Ball State. Purdue was No. 11, Northern Iowa No. 10, Iowa State No. 9. All previous posts in this countdown can be found here.

No. 7 — Nov. 15: At Illinois

First and foremost, this is a ranking of the most-appealing games, not the best opponents. They often go hand in hand, but not always.

If this countdown were purely based on the opponents' strength, no way does Illinois get as high as 7th among Iowa's 12 foes. The compelling part is the fact Iowa hasn't played the Fighting Illini since 2008. Even though (imagine Lewis Black is saying this) THEY ARE FROM BORDER STATES IN THE SAME CONFERENCE WHO HAVE BEEN PLAYING EACH OTHER SINCE 1899!!!

But in an inspired moment several months ago, the Big Ten actually separated its football divisions by geography. Which put Iowa in the same division with every Big Ten school from Iowa's border states, and Purdue.

It actually makes sense!

So with five years having gone by without the Hawkeyes and Illini having met on the gridiron, this is a fairly appealing game. Well, that may be an exaggeration. But it will at least be different.

So how will Iowa fans know how to find Memorial Stadium in Champaign? How do you find anything these days? GPS.

This will be the first chance in six years for Hawkeye fans to pay a visit to Merry Ann's Diner in Champaign, just a few blocks from the stadium. It's been a long time since I've sampled Merry Ann's wares, but I always liked the place.

As for Illinois' team, little is expected of it in Tim Beckman's third season as the team's coach. His record there is 6-18 overall, 1-15 in the Big Ten. He has yet to win a Big Ten game at home, which bodes well for Iowa.

What bodes well for Iowa's fans is the opportunity to make the game Kinnick East. Illinois only draws win it wins. Last year, its largest home crowd was 47,362, for Wisconsin. Ohio State drew just 44,095. There hasn't been a home crowd of over 50,000 since 2011.

The Illini had an all-time record of 585-585-51 when they opened their Big Ten season last year. Then they lost 39-19 at Nebraska, and haven't been at .500 all-time since. They're now 586-592-51.

Will they ever return to that .500 mark? What am I, the Amazing Kreskin?

This could be a 6-6 team this season, if for no other reason than Youngstown State, Western Kentucky and Texas State are on the home schedule. But the Illini have to start beating Big Ten teams at home if Beckman is to have a tenure at Illinois that is more than a blip.

Can Iowa be one of those teams? Sure. Should it be? Uh, no. Will it be? What am I, the Amazing Kreskin?