The Illinois Fighting Illini have wrapped up their best regular season in nearly two decades, and could land a big-time bowl game as a reward for their play.
Illinois defeated Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Saturday to not only take back the Land of Lincoln Trophy, but also secured a 9-3 record on the regular season, their best since they won nine games in the 2007 campaign.
That season, Illinois went to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, but with that game serving as a College Football Playoff quarterfinal this year, the Illini will instead have to look toward other high-profile games for their postseason appearance.
Here’s the breakdown of how Illinois will be viewed by bowl game organizers, and the factors that could play into their selection.
College Football Playoff Expansion a Key
The Illini ended up finishing fifth in the Big Ten this season with a 6-3 conference record and a 9-3 record overall, but they could still land one of the Big Ten’s top non-playoff bowl games.
That’s because the Big Ten could potentially have up to four teams in the College Football Playoff this December. Oregon, the No. 1 team in America, will land a spot regardless of whether they win the conference championship game against Penn State, and in all likelihood the Nittany Lions are in the same boat, though a loss would impact their final seeding in the CFP rankings next week.
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Even after their loss to Michigan, Ohio State will still likely make a playoff game after a two-loss season, and Indiana will still likely land a playoff berth even after their defeat against the Buckeyes in Columbus in mid-November.
If all four of those teams make the playoff, then Illinois would be the top available Big Ten team for a bowl bid.
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So Which Bowl Could Illinois Land?
At this point, it appears that the Illini will be headed to Florida for their bowl game, but it is yet to be determined which game they will land in.
The most likely scenario would see Illinois playing in the Citrus Bowl, contested at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, on New Year’s Eve. That game would pit Illinois against the top non-playoff SEC team in the country, which at this point appears to be either Alabama or South Carolina, both of whom won their rivalry games on Saturday.
Illinois is 0-1 all-time against Alabama, losing the Liberty Bowl in 1982 against the Crimson Tide. They have never played South Carolina in their history.
The other possibility for Illinois would be the ReliaQuest Bowl, contested at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on New Year’s Eve. This would also pit Illinois against an SEC team, with Texas A&M a possibility along with Alabama and South Carolina, depending on the final order of the College Football Playoff rankings.
Less likely would be the Music City Bowl in Nashville or the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.
When Will Illinois Find Out?
The bowl game schedule will slowly emerge following the announcement of the College Football Playoff rankings, which is set to take place on Sunday, Dec. 8 after the conclusion of the conference title games next weekend.
