Bowl Projections

Status
Not open for further replies.
#29      
I feel like losing to NIU would be pretty crushing due to our emphasis on in-state recruiting. We would need to beat them.
 
#30      

altgeld88

Arlington, Virginia
It says something unflattering about Illinois and Maryland at this point that their prospective (presumably well-matched) opponents are three MAC teams, and two are in the middle and at the bottom of their division. Wouldn't want to play Northern.
 
#31      

altgeld88

Arlington, Virginia
I legitimately thought that was the Washington Football Team for a few very confusing seconds.
I thought for an instant it was the Univ of Washington then perhaps Western Illinois (yikes; they're awful this year in the MoValley Conf.) Shows how little I know about the Quick Lane Bowl, which is probably a badge of honor. "Detroit" and "Illini bowl game" triggers a facial tic.
 
#32      
If we win out and end 6-6, any chance for the Pinstripe Bowl?
 
#33      
If we win out and end 6-6, any chance for the Pinstripe Bowl?
I think that would almost certainly go to the winner of the season-ending Maryland@Rutgers game. Both have five wins and tough games this week (UM has Michigan, RU is at Penn State). Both schools' fan bases can drive to Yankee Stadium. I'd say one of those schools vs. Virginia is close to a lock.
 
#35      

orange100

time to hop on the wife
I don't believe in participation trophies. Kind of old fashioned that way. Thanks for asking.
this is where I am at. Call me a grumpy old man but Bowl Games used to mean something. To be invited to one said that the team had achieved at a high level and earned the right to take on a remote, equally worthy opponent. 6-6 and 5-7 teams now going to ridiculously-named sponsored bowls (the Lending Tree Bowl, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) is a revenue grab. It's a joke. If my team isn't in one of the traditional/BCS/New Year's Week Bowls, I don't feel like one of these other bowls really counts for much other than getting to watch an extra game. I'm ok with an extra game, but as a fan, saying we're a "bowl team" is sort of an empty brag to me.
 
#36      
this is where I am at. Call me a grumpy old man but Bowl Games used to mean something. To be invited to one said that the team had achieved at a high level and earned the right to take on a remote, equally worthy opponent. 6-6 and 5-7 teams now going to ridiculously-named sponsored bowls (the Lending Tree Bowl, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) is a revenue grab. It's a joke. If my team isn't in one of the traditional/BCS/New Year's Week Bowls, I don't feel like one of these other bowls really counts for much other than getting to watch an extra game. I'm ok with an extra game, but as a fan, saying we're a "bowl team" is sort of an empty brag to me.

Regardless of how you feel about the bowl itself, and whether getting in at 5-7 or 6-6 is more embarrassing than not, you should be rooting for a bowl invite solely for the extra time this coaching staff will have with the players.

It’s like 10-15 extra practices or something like that. Basically a quarter of the regular season or an extra “spring ball”.

If we want to sit here and say it takes time to install a new system and we need our players to become more experienced playing together/running these schemes, we can’t turn our nose up at all that extra time given to a bowl eligible team.

It’s literal “rebuild gold” for a team like ours to have extra practices in year 1.
 
#37      

orange100

time to hop on the wife
Regardless of how you feel about the bowl itself, and whether getting in at 5-7 or 6-6 is more embarrassing than not, you should be rooting for a bowl invite solely for the extra time this coaching staff will have with the players.

It’s like 10-15 extra practices or something like that. Basically a quarter of the regular season or an extra “spring ball”.

If we want to sit here and say it takes time to install a new system and we need our players to become more experienced playing together/running these schemes, we can’t turn our nose up at all that extra time given to a bowl eligible team.

It’s literal “rebuild gold” for a team like ours to have extra practices in year 1.
yeah, I get that. But what a dumb rule by the NCAA. "This 5-7 team is going to the Grape Ne-Hi Bowl in Poughkeepsie NY on December 17th. They get 15 extra practices. BUT THIS 5-7 team did not achieve bowl status. No more practices for them." I mean ....


Sean Hayes Wtf GIF by Team Coco
 
#38      
yeah, I get that. But what a dumb rule by the NCAA. "This 5-7 team is going to the Grape Ne-Hi Bowl in Poughkeepsie NY on December 17th. They get 15 extra practices. BUT THIS 5-7 team did not achieve bowl status. No more practices for them." I mean ....


Sean Hayes Wtf GIF by Team Coco

It’s an interesting intersection of capitalism and college football. The NCAA doesn’t force these companies to sponsor a bowl but the ways to earn a bowl bid are at the whims of the ever idiotic NCAA.

In this case, I want us to take full advantage of the NCAA’s inconsistent nonsense.

*Disclaimer: I don’t know if the NCAA dictates how many bowls there has to be or if it s truly based on the amount of sponsors.
 
Last edited:
#40      
Regardless of how you feel about the bowl itself, and whether getting in at 5-7 or 6-6 is more embarrassing than not, you should be rooting for a bowl invite solely for the extra time this coaching staff will have with the players.

It’s like 10-15 extra practices or something like that. Basically a quarter of the regular season or an extra “spring ball”.

If we want to sit here and say it takes time to install a new system and we need our players to become more experienced playing together/running these schemes, we can’t turn our nose up at all that extra time given to a bowl eligible team.

It’s literal “rebuild gold” for a team like ours to have extra practices in year 1.
I also think it's worth noting that the "balance' in college football has shifted dramatically over the last 20-30 years. Without at least 15 bowls to reward decent performance and enable teams to climb the ladder, resign yourself to watching the entrenched elites play in the few bowls every year.
 
#42      
yeah, I get that. But what a dumb rule by the NCAA. "This 5-7 team is going to the Grape Ne-Hi Bowl in Poughkeepsie NY on December 17th. They get 15 extra practices. BUT THIS 5-7 team did not achieve bowl status. No more practices for them." I mean ....


Sean Hayes Wtf GIF by Team Coco
I agree. And it's the teams with the losing record who probably need the extra practice more than the winning teams. Just let everyone have the extra practices so the teams not going to a bowl game can work on player development.
 
#43      
yeah, I get that. But what a dumb rule by the NCAA. "This 5-7 team is going to the Grape Ne-Hi Bowl in Poughkeepsie NY on December 17th. They get 15 extra practices. BUT THIS 5-7 team did not achieve bowl status. No more practices for them." I mean ....


Sean Hayes Wtf GIF by Team Coco
Yes. 82 bowl births for 130 FBS teams is moronic, makes bowls nearly meaningless, and due to simple math makes the “5-7 problem” completely inevitable, encouraging more FBS vs FCS games that nobody wants to watch.

And like you said, arbitrarily letting some 5-7 teams have more practice time while not letting others have the same is preposterous.
 
#44      

redwingillini11

North Aurora
I get the "bowls used to mean something" argument, because there are just too many bowl games now. However, bowl games still mean A LOT to US because we never freaking get to go to any. I want our guys to have that experience, and we need to be able to tell our recruits they will be going on a trip during the holidays.

I don't care if anyone doesn't like it because we aren't in the Outback Bowl. We have to learn how to walk before we go mountain climbing.
 
#45      
I get the "bowls used to mean something" argument, because there are just too many bowl games now. However, bowl games still mean A LOT to US because we never freaking get to go to any. I want our guys to have that experience, and we need to be able to tell our recruits they will be going on a trip during the holidays.

I don't care if anyone doesn't like it because we aren't in the Outback Bowl. We have to learn how to walk before we go mountain climbing.
Oh absolutely! We can start getting jaded about bowls when the Illini have gone to 5 in 6 years.
 
#47      
I’ve never understood the “too many bowls” angst.


-More college football to watch during the holiday downtime.
-Even bottom tier bowls mean a lot to players and their families.
-More practice time.
-No one is forced to watch low level bowls.
Bowls are seen as an accomplishment and I don't think an under .500 team should pretend their season was an accomplishment because they made a Bowl Game. Bowl Games used to matter, now they don't.
 
#48      
Any bowl is good for a team like Illinois right now. More practice time and exposure. That being said, it looks like too many games have to fall just right for a bowl this year. Just beat the Mildcats. Then during the off season we can lament the close (blown?) games vs. MD, Purdue, Rutgers as we like to do.
 
#49      
Bowls are seen as an accomplishment and I don't think an under .500 team should pretend their season was an accomplishment because they made a Bowl Game. Bowl Games used to matter, now they don't.
First, only a few bowl games have "mattered" over history. often just one a year.

Bowl games are an extension of the season. If there are 41 bowl games that means that 82 teams get to extend their season. It's that simple.
 
#50      
I’ve never understood the “too many bowls” angst.


-More college football to watch during the holiday downtime.
-Even bottom tier bowls mean a lot to players and their families.
-More practice time.
-No one is forced to watch low level bowls.
How about they create more inter-conference, post-season games matching teams based on performance (not exclusive to good teams)? They don't have to call it a bowl and don't need to celebrate it as an accomplishment (outside of the big bowl games for top teir teams). I would have loved to see an Illinois-Kansas football game in recent years, although I hope our programs are diverging now
 
Status
Not open for further replies.