Bowl Projections

[aaeismacgychel]

At this point I'd rather them go 7-5 and not get absolutely boat raced by a decent SEC team. Give us another 7-5 Big12 or ACC team

I just don't get this line of thinking. I don't get any of this fretting about "oh god, if we win 9 games this season, we might be forced to play an actually great team in a high end bowl game. We're going to embarrass ourselves." It'd be like turning down a million dollars tax free because you have to do a stupid dance on TV in favor of $20 to not be filmed. Bowl games don't matter anymore. It's CFP or bust. Who cares if you get blown out by Georgia in a bowl game that is now completely meaningless as everyone of value opts out? No recruit will care about that. You know what they will care about? You just had a 9 win season and are considered one of the risers in college football.

To seriously want us to end the season going 1-4 (or I guess 1-5 after a bowl game loss) because we might have to face a team like Georgia or Bama in a bowl game at 9-3 is just so absurd to me and such a losing way of thinking that I have a difficult time taking seriously anyone who has that opinion. You play to win the games. Period.

I'll say one last thing. Let's say you're a billionaire alum of Illinois. What team are you donating your money to?

Team A: 7-6. Started season 6-1, ended 1-5 losing to mediocre opponents and then losing the competitive dumpster fire bowl. National perspective: Illinois got to a bowl game for the second time in 3 years, but sputtered to the finish line after a 6-1 start. Bret hoping Illinois can build on this to make back to back bowl games next season for the first time in 35 years

Team B: 9-4. Started and ended the season strong with 3 of their losses coming to teams ranking in the Top 10 at end of season. Was selected for the highest non-CFP B10 affiliated bowl in the season but got obliterated by Georgia. National perspective: Illinois clearly on the rise with Bret but can they take that next big step to be a CFP team? Will they have the cash to compete?

I'm paying for Team B every time.

 

[AZILL]

I 100% guarantee you that BB would rather play Georgia in the Citrus Bowl than someone like Syracuse or VT in Reliaquest or Duke Mayo! Can you imagine winning? Not many will care that 1/2 their starters are sitting out for the draft. We beat GEORGIA and it would be an incredible positive for the program.... and if we lose? Well, it WAS Georgia after all.... I don't see it the same way many of you seem to. I say give us the absolute best bowl and the best opponent we can get, it's a win-win in my book.

 

[Illini2010-11]

At this point I'd rather them go 7-5 and not get absolutely boat raced by a decent SEC team. Give us another 7-5 Big12 or ACC team

So you would rather lose two more games this season, possibly to Northwestern, all to avoid getting trounced in a good bowl game?

 

[DERV64]

So you would rather lose two more games this season, possibly to Northwestern, all to avoid getting trounced in a good bowl game?

Msu and Rutgers will both be tough to pull out the way the team has been playing and with the injuries on defense...I'm telling you if we go 8-4 or 9-3 and get ol miss, bama, s Carolina, lsu....it's going to be a 56-7 type game and set the program back and be an embarrassment to the big10 as well. This team doesn't have the horses to run with those teams. I'd much prefer a hard fought competitive game with iowa st, k state, Syracuse, North Carolina type team

 

[DERV64]

Msu and Rutgers will both be tough to pull out the way the team has been playing and with the injuries on defense...I'm telling you if we go 8-4 or 9-3 and get ol miss, bama, s Carolina, lsu....it's going to be a 56-7 type game and set the program back and be an embarrassment to the big10 as well. This team doesn't have the horses to run with those teams. I'd much prefer a hard fought competitive game with iowa st, k state, Syracuse, North Carolina type team

Like fsu playing Georgia in a bowl game last year. Or purdue playing lsu in a bowl the year before

 

[Illiniam1984]

Msu and Rutgers will both be tough to pull out the way the team has been playing and with the injuries on defense...I'm telling you if we go 8-4 or 9-3 and get ol miss, bama, s Carolina, lsu....it's going to be a 56-7 type game and set the program back and be an embarrassment to the big10 as well. This team doesn't have the horses to run with those teams. I'd much prefer a hard fought competitive game with iowa st, k state, Syracuse, North Carolina type team

 

[Illini2010-11]

Msu and Rutgers will both be tough to pull out the way the team has been playing and with the injuries on defense...I'm telling you if we go 8-4 or 9-3 and get ol miss, bama, s Carolina, lsu....it's going to be a 56-7 type game and set the program back and be an embarrassment to the big10 as well. This team doesn't have the horses to run with those teams. I'd much prefer a hard fought competitive game with iowa st, k state, Syracuse, North Carolina type team

This is just preposterous. Going 7-5, meaning losing 4 out of last 5 regular season games sets back the program much more than a glorified exhibition game beat down. Give me 8-4 or 9-3 any day of the week. Much easier to sell to recruits.

Let me ask you: Would you have traded in the Rose Bowl game in 2008, where we were way overmatched to play in a lesser bowl? I can't believe anyone would be hoping we lose more games for a chance at a more winnable bowl game.

 

[DERV64]

This is just preposterous. Going 7-5, meaning losing 4 out of last 5 regular season games sets back the program much more than a glorified exhibition game beat down. Give me 8-4 or 9-3 any day of the week. Much easier to sell to recruits.

Let me ask you: Would you have traded in the Rose Bowl game in 2008, where we were way overmatched to play in a lesser bowl? I can't believe anyone would be hoping we lose more games for a chance at a more winnable bowl game.

I just want competitive football games.....I'm not interested in watching more beatdowns. Is that too hard for you to understand? I've seen enough knives going through a butter defense and an offense that can't get a push.

Yes give me a competitive damn bowl game and if that sounds crazy to you then so be it.

 

[and 69 others]

Msu and Rutgers will both be tough to pull out the way the team has been playing and with the injuries on defense...I'm telling you if we go 8-4 or 9-3 and get ol miss, bama, s Carolina, lsu....it's going to be a 56-7 type game and set the program back and be an embarrassment to the big10 as well. This team doesn't have the horses to run with those teams. I'd much prefer a hard fought competitive game with iowa st, k state, Syracuse, North Carolina type team

You’re obviously either trolling or you’ve never competed for anything in your life. I simply cannot believe you are being serious.

 

[DERV64]

Mark my words.....if we get dragged by 40+ by a talented sec team we have no business with prepare for a 2-10/3-9 2025. If we put up a fight and have a competitive game with an Iowa st.....this team will build and have a competitive 2025 season

 

[Illiniam1984]

Mark my words.....if we get dragged by 40+ by a talented sec team we have no business with prepare for a 2-10/3-9 2025. If we put up a fight and have a competitive game with an Iowa st.....this team will build and have a competitive 2025 season

 

[Illinijoe]

I just want competitive football games.....I'm not interested in watching more beatdowns. Is that too hard for you to understand? I've seen enough knives going through a butter defense and an offense that can't get a push.

Yes give me a competitive damn bowl game and if that sounds crazy to you then so be it.

Give me a 9-3 season for one of the best seasons in program history - plain and simple.

 

[mhuml32]

Citrus Bowl
Projection: Illinois vs. Georgia
247sports

 

[Illini2010-11]

I just want competitive football games.....I'm not interested in watching more beatdowns. Is that too hard for you to understand? I've seen enough knives going through a butter defense and an offense that can't get a push.

Yes give me a competitive damn bowl game and if that sounds crazy to you then so be it.

What is hard for me to understand is why anyone would actively want or root for us to lose more winnable games in regular season, solely for a better matchup in an almost meaningless bowl game with plenty of opt outs.

Put it this way, if Illnois struggles to 7-5 down the stretch, almost any bowl game would be hard to win. Give me 8 or 9 wins in a heartbeat and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[IlliniFanTX]

Mark my words.....if we get dragged by 40+ by a talented sec team we have no business with prepare for a 2-10/3-9 2025. If we put up a fight and have a competitive game with an Iowa st.....this team will build and have a competitive 2025 season

Good. Lord.

Imagine thinking the entirety of the 2025 season rests on whether we lost by 40 to Georgia in a decent bowl game or won by 3 against Iowa State in the Pop Tarts bowl or whatever.

 

[illiniE]

Mark my words.....if we get dragged by 40+ by a talented sec team we have no business with prepare for a 2-10/3-9 2025. If we put up a fight and have a competitive game with an Iowa st.....this team will build and have a competitive 2025 season

I have no ideal what any of your words mean. Can you try again.

 

[aaeismacgychel]

I just want competitive football games.....I'm not interested in watching more beatdowns. Is that too hard for you to understand? I've seen enough knives going through a butter defense and an offense that can't get a push.

Yes give me a competitive damn bowl game and if that sounds crazy to you then so be it.

So uh, just throwing this out there, you do realize that the best way to avoid beatdowns is winning? And that in college football, losing doesn’t get you a higher draft pick, right? Tanking won't get you a lottery pick 5 star talent. I think you may have been in a coma the past few years, because your thought process regarding bowl games is positively archaic. All the bowls that meant anything are now in the CFP and every player hoping to get drafted or transfer opts out of any other bowl game. Bowl games are a shell of what they used to be.

And even if we were to play a complete garbage bowl like the Pinstripe, you do realize there's a really strong chance Bryant, Franklin, Coleman, and Jacas won't be playing, yes? How competitive do you really think we're going to be?

We could lose 200-0 in the Citrus Bowl to Georgia and it wouldn't have even an iota of the negative impact that going 1-5 down the stretch to finish 7-6 will. And we should all know this real damn well as Illini fans- how'd we do after that 2011 season where we started 6-0 and finished 7-6? Oh, we went 11 seasons without a winning regular season? But hey, it was a competitive bowl game, right? *shaking head*

 

[Illini2010-11]

We could lose 200-0 in the Citrus Bowl to Georgia and it wouldn't have even an iota of the negative impact that going 1-5 down the stretch to finish 7-6 will. And we should all know this real damn well as Illini fans- how'd we do after that 2011 season where we started 6-0 and finished 7-6? Oh, we went 11 seasons without a winning regular season? But hey, it was a competitive bowl game, right? *shaking head*

We had a very winnable bowl game against a UCLA team with a losing record and got the lasagna clownshow as a reward for the next season. But i thought we were primed for a great season due to winning the bowl game /s

 

[AZILL]

I just want competitive football games.....I'm not interested in watching more beatdowns. Is that too hard for you to understand? I've seen enough knives going through a butter defense and an offense that can't get a push.

Yes give me a competitive damn bowl game and if that sounds crazy to you then so be it.

I would rather lose to Georgia 40-17, than lose to Syracuse 21-14.....

Mark my words.....if we get dragged by 40+ by a talented sec team we have no business with prepare for a 2-10/3-9 2025.

And how do you come to the conclusion that a 40+ (where have I seen that before???) loss will automatically mean we are resigned to a 2-10/3-9 season the following year???? Please explain how one leads to the other if you will....

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Mark my words.....if we get dragged by 40+ by a talented sec team we have no business with prepare for a 2-10/3-9 2025. If we put up a fight and have a competitive game with an Iowa st.....this team will build and have a competitive 2025 season

 

[Illinijoe]

I would rather lose to Georgia 40-17, than lose to Syracuse 21-14.....

And how do you come to the conclusion that a 40+ (where have I seen that before???) loss will automatically mean we are resigned to a 2-10/3-9 season the following year???? Please explain how one leads to the other if you will....

It’s fake news

 

[Dan]

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Illinois vs Alabama
actionnetwork.com

 

[band camp]

I just want competitive football games.....I'm not interested in watching more beatdowns. Is that too hard for you to understand? I've seen enough knives going through a butter defense and an offense that can't get a push.

Yes give me a competitive damn bowl game and if that sounds crazy to you then so be it.

Don't take this the wrong way, I mean this will all the respect in the world, but it's not about you.

 

[aaeismacgychel]

We had a very winnable bowl game against a UCLA team with a losing record and got the lasagna clownshow as a reward for the next season. But i thought we were primed for a great season due to winning the bowl game /s

I guess in this light Beckman was just doing his best to make sure we didn't embarrass ourselves against SEC teams in high end bowl games, haha... Maybe he wasn't a clown after all, just knew we weren't ready for that level of beatdown and so instead tanked multiple seasons to bide his time for that perfect opportunity to strike over a decade later! By humiliating ourselves he saved us from SEC humiliation! We had it wrong, guys. We had it all wrong. Beckman=Genius *mindblown* lol

 

[redwingillini11]

Citrus Bowl
Projection: Illinois vs. Georgia
247sports

ESPN.com bowl projections:

-Bonagura: Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Georgia
-Schlabach: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. South Carolina

College Football Bowl Projections 2025-26

CBS Sports experts select the college football teams they believe will make the NCAA National Semifinals at the end of the 2025 season and give projections for each game.

www.cbssports.com

Dec. 31

Citrus

Illinois

vs. Ole Miss

Big Ten vs. SEC

3 p.m.

College football bowl projections for Week 12: Texas back in CFP title game, Ole Miss poised for a run? | Sporting News

The bowl matchups have shifted after an eventful Week 11.

www.sportingnews.com

Dec. 31

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl

Illinois vs. Georgia

2024 College Football Bowl Projections: SMU, Boise State To the Playoffs

After an incredible Week 11 full of shocks and surprises, our latest College Football Bowl Projections predict the 2024 postseason.

collegefootballnetwork.com

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Louisville vs. Illinois

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/bowl-projections-2024

Citrus Bowl (Dec. 31)​

Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Illinois vs. Georgia