B1G wins have been hard to come by for Illinois during the Lovie Smith era. In his first two years, the Illini have netted just two conference victories.

Smith recognized that at his weekly press conference on Monday. He understands that the best way to help the program is to secure a few more league wins this season.

The illini have dropped 13 straight against B1G opponents, a streak that has to end soon. Smith is hoping to snap it this Saturday against Rutgers.

“The one thing that can help our program is to get a win against a Big Ten program,” he said. “We don’t have a Big Ten win and we need one in the worst way.”

Illinois had a chance to snap its B1G losing streak in Week 4 against Penn State. The Illini had a 24-21 lead over the Nittany Lions in the third quarter before eventually falling 63-24.

Considering how poorly the B1G West has performed the early portion of the season, it’s fair to say the Illini will have chances to tally a few conference victories this season. Future games against Purdue, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern all could be toss-up games depending on how well Illinois improves.

But it starts with Rutgers this weekend. If Smith’s team can’t post a B1G win over the Scarlet Knights, it’s tough to envision it’d have the ability to knock off anyone else in the conference.