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Illinois’ Lovie Smith is in favor of restoring rivalry with Mizzou
By Jason Hall
Published:
Illinois head coach Lovie Smith isn’t afraid of facing Missouri, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Smith, who was hired in March, told reporters Thursday that he would be in favor of restoring his team’s rivalry with the Tigers.
“I’m always in favor of natural rivalry games,” Smith said. “So, yes, we would be in favor of that. We’re gonna be recruiting some of the same players. We’re both probably about the same distance from St. Louis. There’s a reason why that rivalry used to be here, and I’m in favor of bringing all that back.”
The Braggin’ Rights rivalry first began in 1896 and was played sporadically until 1966. The two teams played six straight seasons from 1975-80, four straight seasons between 1991-94, back-to-back seasons in 2002-03 and four consecutive from 2007-10.
Missouri is 17-7 all-time against Illinois and has won the last six consecutive meetings between 2002-10.
Jason covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
