Ohio State and Illinois don’t just line up on Saturday to play football. They line up to decide who gets to take home a wooden turtle.
That’s the kind of college football quirk that turns a simple matchup into something stranger, older and more memorable. Last year in Champaign, Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith was photographed carrying the trophy around Gies Memorial Stadium while Brutus Buckeye knelt and bowed toward him - a scene that captured both Smith’s star power and the sport’s flair for the wonderfully odd.
Smith, then a sophomore, had already helped Ohio State win a national title and was on track to challenge multiple program receiving records. He is viewed as a future top 10 NFL pick, with Hall of Fame expectations already attached to him. Even with all that, the image of him handling a giant wooden turtle stood out as a reminder of how college football can still lean into pageantry and pure weirdness.
That turtle is the Illibuck, and it carries a lot of history. Ohio State and Illinois will meet this week on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, with the winner taking possession of Illibuck XI.
“It’s just the pageantry and tradition of college football,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said, “and I think that’s what makes college football great.”
The trophy dates back to 1924, making it the second-oldest rivalry trophy in the Big Ten. Only the Little Brown Jug, awarded in the Michigan-Minnesota rivalry since 1909, is older.
The origin story is as charming as the trophy itself. In 1924, Ohio State finished its regular season against Illinois rather than Michigan, and the schools’ honor societies selected a live turtle to symbolize the rivalry. The choice was meant to reflect longevity and endurance.
The turtle didn’t last long as a living creature, though. It died in 1926.
After that, the rivalry continued through a series of replicas, each one carrying the Illibuck name forward. On Saturday, the latest version will again be up for grabs.
“It’s tradition. It’s history,” Day said.
“… I think guys know what’s at stake. There’s a lot at stake when you play conference games.”
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