Bowl Projections
- Status
This was a game the refs wouldn't let Bear lose. Three hits on Eason which, in my mind, were late/out of bounds with no penalty called was the difference. Tony went out one play for each those three hits, and poor Kris Jenner came in and threw 3 picks.
Edit: after looking at old game film, shockingly I failed to remember correctly. Two tackles were legit hits, 3rd would have been targeting today.
The mind plays tricks!
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Living as an Illini fan in Alabama (and still living here) I was at that game. Freezing cold, the place was 70% Illini fans. I believe Illinois was in the red zone 7 times that game and got zero points. It was so winnable, but the Bear was not going to lose that last game. I believe he died a month later.
USAFILLINI
- Florida
I just got off the phone with a rep. They are not accepting any new memberships for this year, so you cant buy the packages. He told me tickets will be available 8 December.
That game must have been a blast! And if you took the pic from your seats, great seats!
I went to this game on a whim during a trip to Nashville, no connection to Vandy or Bama at all. Never in a million years would I have expected this result, let alone having it set in motion a possible Illinois date with Alabama in the Citrus Bowl. We can definitely beat these guys, I'd chose them over any other SEC team for sure. What a time to be alive!
I would absolutely prefer Alabama in the Citrus over all other options. They have the biggest brand, and will bring an enormous crowd and tv audiance. We are building a program, our coach is a marketing major, and I feel like he could make hay with the volume and sources of attention coming towards the program if we were playing Bama. That's who I want, and I think we'll beat them!
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
College Football Bowl Projections After Week 13
The finish line to a bonkers regular season looms.
www.si.com
| Citrus Bowl | Orlando | Dec. 31 | Illinois vs. Alabama |
| Citrus | Dec. 31 | Illinois (Big Ten 2) | Alabama (SEC 2) | Orlando, Fla. | 3 p.m. | ABC |
We won't be playing Alabama. They will find a way to put them in the playoffs. Ranked 13 somehow.
Wouldn’t that require teams above them to lose?
Pretty funny to hear from a trusted, deeply embedded source that 2 “bowl representatives” from an unnamed bowl were spotted at the Silver Bullet…
Freezing cold is right. Funny thing, it was unseasonably warm in Memphis right up to game day. Then the bottom dropped out. One of the hardest hitting games I've ever attended. The Alabama players were playing lights out. They did not want to lose Bear's (who was a condescending a-hole during a press conference with White) last game. Illini fans were LOUD! So were Alabama's. The Illini "brave" (only appearance I can recall) went around the edge of the field leading cheers. What an atmosphere.
No they had some tough losses. They will be left out. I can see a team like Tulane sneak in.
Anyway, anyhow... I'd be surprised if it isn't one of Bama, Ole Miss, South Carolina in the Citrus.
Have no clue which one I'd prefer...
Have no clue which one I'd prefer...
We want it to be Alabama for a whole host of reasons- prestige/ national attention, recruiting, how fired up our players would be, etc
They will have a bunch of opt outs and we shouldn’t have that many- even PB, I can’t see him turning down an opportunity to torch Alabama’s backup CB’s on National tv and raise his draft stock. I think that goes for everyone- we don’t have any first or second round picks that have nothing to gain- all of our players have a great deal to gain in this game
We had 4 players sit out the Reliaquest bowl, only 2 of them went the first two rounds.
Yeah, it's not just the high picks who sit out bowls these days, it's the guys whose agents tell them that they're going to be high picks.
Anyone who has a chance to play in the NFL at all is a possible opt out. The senior bowl and combine are significantly more impactful to draft prospects than a non-playoff bowl game, particularly if you're NOT expected to be a high pick.. For us that means Bryant, Franklin, Davis, Coleman, Edwards, and I wouldn't completely rule out Jacas or the Scott's as early entry juniors.
That might literally be 8 of our 10 best players. Some of them will not play in the bowl. Full stop. We're not special in that regard.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Tulane sneaking in would have to relevance to Bama at all. The only way Tulane gets in is with them jumping the B12 Champs for the "fifth highest ranked champ" spot in the CFP or if Boise State stumbles.
Unfortunately, there is an actual path for Bama to still get into the CFP. If Bama easily handles business against Auburn (no guarantee there), they have a path if at least 2 of below happen (assuming Texas A&M does not win SEC):
1) Clemson loses to South Carolina
2) IU loses to Purdue (IU will get jumped by many 3 loss teams with 2 losses and no good wins)
3) Tennessee losing to Vandy
4) ND losing to USC (the NIU loss could really hurt ND to some extent...not sure if they would fall behind Bama though)
5) Maybe another upset not considered above
If two of the first three conditions happen, Bama would be in really good shape.
In any event, the most probable bowl outcome for Illinois is facing Bama in Citrus Bowl -- If IU beats Purdue, it is highly unlikely to see IU fall out of CFP, so Illinois would be in a near lock position for Citrus Bowl (regardless of what happens this weekend, as Iowa went there last year and would likely not get selected with same record as Illinois). If Bama wins the Iron Bowl and does not make CFP (assuming Tennessee wins this weekend), they will be a virtual lock for Citrus Bowl (unless Georgia stumbles vs Georgia Tech and then loses SEC Champ Game...can't see a 4 loss Georgia team making it in CFP). That scenario could be interesting if Citrus Bowl would select Georgia over Bama. Only way I see Ole Miss jumping Bama is a Bama loss Saturday.
One thing is near certain though, if IU wins on Saturday, those of us wanting to attend a bowl game should start making travel plans to Orlando.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Not to mention some that are planning on transferring in offseason. An injury in a bowl game would hurt their NIL possibilities elsewhere, so they may have incentive to sit out.
I see at as the guys who cannot improve their stock are the one most likely to opt out. One more big game might not help Bryant (compared to staying healthy and having a good combine), but a big game against a name school might really help someone like Seth Coleman whose performance isn't always as consistent. At the end of the day, I won't ever begrudge players sitting out a non-playoff bowl game, they have to do that math for their own best interests.
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
What's the point of playing any game at that point...
$500M
Bowl Game Payouts Are Practically a Small Fortune in College Football
College football bowl season is more than just silly-named contests that NFL-bound players opt out of. It's a money machine.
fanbuzz.com
Hadn't even thought of that angle honestly. Bowl season is so sad now-a-days. I totally understand players not wanting to risk injury, but it's a total bummer for us fans of teams like Illinois where a bowl is still a big deal.
I say make it a 32 or 48 team playoff and scrap all the bowls. I know it's not feasible given how entrenched some of these traditional bowl games are, but it would be so much more entertaining.
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
None of which goes to the players.$500M
Bowl Game Payouts Are Practically a Small Fortune in College Football
College football bowl season is more than just silly-named contests that NFL-bound players opt out of. It's a money machine.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Whoa, slow down there. Going through the years, there was no championship game until the crappy BCS system originated for 1998 season. The CFP format was in itself controversial when introduced for the 2014 season. There were some that complained that the regular season will become less important when 4 team playoff was introduced, and even more so now. An even larger format would be even worse, and I am not sure it would be more entertaining at all. You would have to somehow include all 10 conference championship winners, and many of these first round games would be laughers (even worse from a viewability standpoint than many of the early bowl season games). The purpose of the playoff should be to have the clear standaway best teams competing for a championship. No way we should be seeing a 5-loss team battling for a championship (and that would happen if the field got that large). Football is much different than March Madness. Not to mention the possible need to shorten the regular season for this large of a playoff.
If you want to get the bowl games more interesting (with less opt outs), then a revenue sharing model would need to be introduced (in order to entice them to play). I do not ever see that happening; but in the meantime, you can still enjoy the games for what they are: a nice vacation, a celebration of a good season, and the invaluable additional practices you get for earning a bowl berth.
- Status