Bowls/Playoff Projections

redwingillini11 · Aug 15, 2025

Preseason Edition:

Bowl projections: Every matchup from the Celebration Bowl to the national title game

It's August and no games have been played, but we're breaking down who will be where in December and beyond.

www.espn.com

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3 p.m., ABC
Schlabach: Illinois vs. Texas A&M

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York)
Noon, ABC
Bonagura: North Carolina vs. Illinois

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

Las Vegas

Illinois

vs.

UCLA

Big Ten vs. Pac-12

3:30pm

Las Vegas, Nev.

https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/2025-preseason-bowl-projections-december-30-january-2

TransPerfect Music City Bowl

Tuesday, December 30, 2025
5:30, ESPN
Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
Bowl Affiliations: Big Ten, SEC
Last Season: Missouri 27, Iowa 24
2023 Season: Maryland 31, Auburn 13

Preseason Bowl Projection
Illinois (8-4) vs Tennessee (8-4)

2025 College Football Bowl Projections: Preseason - The Game Haus

The college football season is coming up and every team will be vying for a bowl game. Here are the 2025 college football bowl projections....

thegamehaus.com

CFP First Round Game

Illinois

Notre Dame

December 20

TBD

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/bowl-projections-2025

Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 31)

Location: Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev.
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Projection: Illinois vs. Arizona State

2025-2026 College Football Bowl Projections: Predicting Every Game of the Postseason, Including the College Football Playoff Bracket

The 2025 season is rapidly approaching, and our latest college football bowl projections set the scene for what to expect from the 136 FBS teams.

www.profootballnetwork.com

Citrus Bowl
Illinois vs. Alabama

College football predictions for 2025 bowl games, 12-team playoff, national championship | Sporting News

You're already looking at who is going to be in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Admit it. (So are we.)

www.sportingnews.com

Dec. 31

Reliaquest Bowl

Illinois vs. Oklahoma

College Football Bowl Projections: Full list of matchups, playoff predictions

With America celebrating another birthday in three days, here’s an early birthday present for ‘Merica: my initial bowl projections for On3. What’s more American than hot dogs, apple pie and America’s College Football Insider providing bowl and College Football Playoff picks for all 82 teams...

www.on3.com

Music City Bowl (Dec. 30)
Nashville, Tenn.
Ole Miss vs. Illinois

RabidDawgClassic · Aug 15, 2025

Those predicting the Citrus Bowl haven’t done their homework. While it’s possible, the bowls move heaven and earth to try to avoid back-to-back appearances.

Battle89 · Aug 15, 2025

RabidDawgClassic said:
Those predicting the Citrus Bowl haven’t done their homework. While it’s possible, the bowls move heaven and earth to try to avoid back-to-back appearances.

Not sure I see this one either, B1G vs B1G? Unless there is some contract affiliation carryover from the old days of the PAC-12?

pweo · Aug 15, 2025

Battle89 said:
Not sure I see this one either, B1G vs B1G? Unless there is some contract affiliation carryover from the old days of the PAC-12?

View attachment 43168

yup, see colorado vs byu last year

the Castle on Daniel · Aug 15, 2025

That'd be hilarious if our first conference game against UCLA is a bowl game that recognizes them as a PAC12 school.

GoodePodzMelendez · Aug 15, 2025

I love that the media refuses to put us in the playoffs lol

Illini2010-11 · Aug 15, 2025

GoodePodzMelendez said:
I love that the media refuses to put us in the playoffs lol

There was one projection for the playoffs. I actually do not think these projections are that bad. We are ranked #12 going into the season, which is fringe CFP territory. I think Citrus Bowl territory is very valid to the preseason ranking. Now, of course, it seems like a strange projection, as we were in that game last season.

Given the history of Illini football after a very good season having major falloffs, it is safe to take the cautious approach to projections. We should be celebrating that the floor of projections so far is Pinstripe Bowl or Las Vegas Bowl...this is indicative to the turnaround Coach B has made on this program. As a fanbase we are used to being nowhere on the board for bowl projections in the preseason or only on a couple of projections (and even those are generally for Detroit).

BretMyBeachHouse · Aug 15, 2025

RabidDawgClassic said:
Those predicting the Citrus Bowl haven’t done their homework. While it’s possible, the bowls move heaven and earth to try to avoid back-to-back appearances.

Homework? Lol.

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Aug 15, 2025

Battle89 said:
Not sure I see this one either, B1G vs B1G? Unless there is some contract affiliation carryover from the old days of the PAC-12?

View attachment 43168

As far as I was aware, Wazzu and Oregon State were still able to be eligible for bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins. Wasn't sure if it was the same for other former Pac-12 schools.

RabidDawgClassic · Aug 16, 2025

IlliniFaninHoosierLand said:
As far as I was aware, Wazzu and Oregon State were still able to be eligible for bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins. Wasn't sure if it was the same for other former Pac-12 schools.

Wazzu and Oregon State own the PAC 12 intellectual property. I would assume that only applies to them, but I dunno.

Calvin · Aug 17, 2025

GoodePodzMelendez said:
I love that the media refuses to put us in the playoffs lol

It takes a lot more analysis with the changes to the college landscape. Lazy voters go off brand names. Someone posted 13 of the top 25 weren't in the preseason last year.

redwingillini11 · Aug 26, 2025

Bowl projections: Preseason picks for who will make the College Football Playoff

College football kicks off in a few days. How will things play out? Here's the first edition of our bowl projections predicting the postseason.

www.usatoday.com

Dec. 19 or 20	Campus sites	CFP first round	Illinois at Texas
Jan. 1	Rose	CFP quarterfinals	No. 3 Penn State vs. Illinois-Texas winner

College football 2025 preseason bowl projections, from the CFP to the Pop-Tarts Bowl

The 2025 season is just kicking off, but it's time to think about December (and January).

www.nytimes.com

Music City Dec. 30, 2025

BIG TEN 5Illinois

SEC 3-8Ole Miss

College Football Bowl Projections Week 1: Full list of matchups, playoff predictions

And we’re off. Week Zero is in the books. Ireland (somehow) survived Farmageddon and the SEC decided to add a ninth conference game for next season and remarkably the world didn’t end. However, what is ending is the legendary career of ESPN’s Lee Corso. The face of college football will don his...

www.on3.com

Pinstripe

Illinois vs Duke

Not Bowl Projection, But...

College Football season starts with Week 0. Our record projections for all 136 teams

College football gets started with Week 0 on Saturday. How will the season unfold? We provide our record projections for all 136 teams.

www.usatoday.com

Illinois

6

3

9

3

BONUS HYPOTHETICAL B1G vs SEC SHOWDOWN

Big Ten vs. SEC challenge: Who would win a 16-game showdown?

If the sport's two premier conferences played a nonconference series, who would prove to have more depth? We played it out.

www.nytimes.com

4. LSU vs. Illinois

Location: Memphis, Tenn. When it comes to Illinois, most people think only of Chicago. In reality, temperature and accent are the only things culturally that separate Downstate Illinois from the Mid-South. Of course, Louisiana is different from everybody else.

Dochterman: This might be familiar territory for Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer, who grew up in Starkville, Miss. The Illini bring back 16 starters at all of the right spots from a 10-win team. LSU returns one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in Garrett Nussmeier and, as always, one of the nation’s best rosters. While Altmyer is terrific in late-game moments, this one is a bit much to handle. LSU, 31-23.

Emerson: Bret Bielema beat LSU twice when he was at Arkansas, including in Death Valley when the Tigers were a top-10 team. But he wouldn’t do it this time: Kelly seems to have an urgency to win big this year, and the defense should finally turn a corner, with Harold Perkins playing a more natural edge-rushing spot. LSU, 27-16.

illinibbcz · Aug 26, 2025

What was the final tally between conferences? I am guessing SEC 10-6.

RabidDawgClassic · Aug 26, 2025

illinibbcz said:
What was the final tally between conferences? I am guessing SEC 10-6.

One guy had 9-7 BIg Ten, the other one had 9-7 SEC. Real scientific stuff there.

Illinir1 · Aug 27, 2025

This isn't related to Bowl Projections for Illinois, but rather about Wisconsin, their schedule, and whether or not they make a bowl game. I bask in the fact that our programs appear to be, at least for now, headed in opposite directions. Bucky has had our number in football since the late 80's/early 90's. Last year Wisconsin missed their first bowl game since 2001. And now they face arguably the toughest schedule in the B1G, if not all of college football. Oddsmakers put their over/under win total at 5.5. And I find it amusing that this Badgernotes.com article suggests that somehow the current NCAA system makes the playing field unlevel against Wisconsin. I say quite the opposite is true, the current NCAA system has significantly leveled the playing field for all teams. I hope our Illini dominate Wisconsin when we visit them in Madison on Nov. 22nd.

Badgernotes Column: Wisconsin football can't hide behind a difficult 2025 schedule

From the article:
"The truth is, no one’s coming to fix it for Wisconsin either. People love to talk about how the system needs guardrails, how there needs to be accountability, but that’s not the era we live in anymore. Media rights deals are too big, the money’s too entrenched, and university presidents aren’t about to put their own cash cow on the chopping block. The enforcement mechanisms that once mattered in college athletics don’t carry the same weight when TV partners are writing blank checks.

What that means on the ground is simple: you can’t bank on the NCAA's ecosystem leveling the playing field. The sport isn’t going to slow down, and the haves aren’t going to fall back to the pack because someone higher up decides it’s the “right thing to do.” That's not happening. Wisconsin either climbs the mountain or risks getting buried under it."

redwingillini11 · Sep 11, 2025

Wow, I have been asleep on the job. My apologies.

Bowl projections: Illinois rising, Clemson falling in College Football Playoff field

There were some changes to the forecasted College Football Playoff field in this week's bowl projections with Illinois rising and Clemson falling.

www.usatoday.com

Illinois moved up a couple seeding places with an impressive road win at Duke,

Dec. 19 or 20	Campus sites	CFP first round	Illinois vs. Texas
Jan. 1	Rose	CFP quarterfinals	No. 1 Ohio State vs. Illinois-Texas winner

College Football Playoff, bowl projections following Week 2

With Week 2 in the books, we break down the movers and shakers, including some new CFP contenders.

www.espn.com

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3 p.m., ABC
Bonagura: Illinois vs. Tennessee
Schlabach: Illinois vs. Alabama

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

Las Vegas

Illinois

vs.

Arizona State

Big Ten vs. Pac-12

3:30pm

Las Vegas, Nev.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/bowl-projections-2025

Citrus Bowl (Dec. 31)

Location: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Illinois vs. Tennessee

https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1nbxoez/brett_mcmurphys_college_football_bowl_projections/?rdt=47032

Las Vegas

Washington vs Illinois

https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/bowl-projections-week-3-alabama-michigan-tennessee-2025

ReliaQuest Bowl

Wednesday, December 31, 2025
12:00, ESPN
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Bowl Affiliations: Big Ten, SEC, ACC,
Last Season: Michigan 19, Alabama 13
Last. Week: USC vs Ole Miss

Illinois Fighting Illini vs Tennessee Volunteers

College Football Bowl Projections Ahead of Week 4: A Shock Team Makes a Deep College Football Playoff Push

In our updated college football bowl projections, a shock team is projected to make a deep playoff push heading into Week 4, but which one is it?

www.profootballnetwork.com

Citrus Bowl
Illinois vs. Ole Miss

Bowl Projections After Week 1: North Carolina Tumbles, Appealing Mayo Bowl Matchup

Aside from the College Football Playoff, how the 35 bowl games shape up after a wild weekend.

www.si.com

ReliaQuest Bowl

Dec. 31

South Carolina vs. Illinois

illinoistradition · Sep 11, 2025

redwingillini11 said:
Wow, I have been asleep on the job. My apologies.

Bowl projections: Illinois rising, Clemson falling in College Football Playoff field

There were some changes to the forecasted College Football Playoff field in this week's bowl projections with Illinois rising and Clemson falling.

www.usatoday.com

Dec. 19 or 20 Campus sites CFP first round Illinois vs. Texas
Jan. 1 Rose CFP quarterfinals No. 1 Ohio State vs. Illinois-Texas winner

College Football Playoff, bowl projections following Week 2

With Week 2 in the books, we break down the movers and shakers, including some new CFP contenders.

www.espn.com

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3 p.m., ABC
Bonagura: Illinois vs. Tennessee
Schlabach: Illinois vs. Alabama

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 Las Vegas
Illinois vs.

Arizona State Big Ten vs. Pac-12 3:30pm Las Vegas, Nev.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/bowl-projections-2025

Citrus Bowl (Dec. 31)
Location: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Illinois vs. Tennessee

https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1nbxoez/brett_mcmurphys_college_football_bowl_projections/?rdt=47032

Las Vegas Washington vs Illinois

https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/bowl-projections-week-3-alabama-michigan-tennessee-2025

ReliaQuest Bowl
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
12:00, ESPN
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Bowl Affiliations: Big Ten, SEC, ACC,
Last Season: Michigan 19, Alabama 13
Last. Week: USC vs Ole Miss

Illinois Fighting Illini vs Tennessee Volunteers

College Football Bowl Projections Ahead of Week 4: A Shock Team Makes a Deep College Football Playoff Push

In our updated college football bowl projections, a shock team is projected to make a deep playoff push heading into Week 4, but which one is it?

www.profootballnetwork.com

Citrus Bowl
Illinois vs. Ole Miss

Bowl Projections After Week 1: North Carolina Tumbles, Appealing Mayo Bowl Matchup

Aside from the College Football Playoff, how the 35 bowl games shape up after a wild weekend.

www.si.com

ReliaQuest Bowl Dec. 31 South Carolina vs. Illinois

Apparently some of those people are also asleep. Washington vs Illinois? South Carolina again? The Citrus Bowl again?

and 69 others · Sep 14, 2025

illinoistradition said:
Apparently some of those people are also asleep. Washington vs Illinois? South Carolina again? The Citrus Bowl again?

Check out the company we keep!

Projecting the CFP top 12 after Week 3

We assess how the committee could stack the top teams in the country after Week 3.

www.espn.com

redwingillini11 · Sep 14, 2025

illinoistradition said:
Apparently some of those people are also asleep. Washington vs Illinois? South Carolina again? The Citrus Bowl again?

Washington is possible because the former Pac 12 teams still can have PAC 12 bowl tie ins. Not ideal of course though.

Piotyr · Sep 14, 2025

redwingillini11 said:
Washington is possible because the former Pac 12 teams still can have PAC 12 bowl tie ins. Not ideal of course though.

Sure, except there is already a Washington vs Illinois game this year.

Illini2010-11 · Sep 14, 2025

Piotyr said:
Sure, except there is already a Washington vs Illinois game this year.

Exactly. The only way the Illini play Washington twice is if it is B1G Champ game or CFP.

GoodePodzMelendez · Sep 14, 2025

BretMyBeachHouse said:
Homework? Lol.

Bowls typically do not invite the same team back to back years. So if we do not make the playoffs, I bet they will not invite us to the Citrus Bowl. Even though we recently played in the Reliant Bowl, that would be the next best bowl.

BretMyBeachHouse · Sep 14, 2025

GoodePodzMelendez said:
Bowls typically do not invite the same team back to back years. So if we do not make the playoffs, I bet they will not invite us to the Citrus Bowl. Even though we recently played in the Reliant Bowl, that would be the next best bowl.

Not sure your point in quoting me. My point was that there's a huge percentage of the sports commentary community that has no interest in doing homework to get a story right.

redwingillini11 · Sep 16, 2025

By far our best bowl projection recap of all time.

Bowl projections: Texas, Notre Dame fall from College Football Playoff bracket

Brad Crawford's college football bowl projections break down how the 12-team CFP could play out after Week 3

www.cbssports.com

CFB Playoff First Round

Dec. 19 or 20

Jones AT&T Stadium
Lubbock, Texas.

(8) Texas Tech vs. (9) Illinois

Winner faces (1) Ohio State

9. Illinois: The Illini are big winners in Week 3 after clobbering Western Michigan and now, it looks like the Big Ten has a path toward a fourth playoff entry following Notre Dame's loss to Texas A&M.

Latest CFP, bowl projections: Fallout from another wild weekend

While Clemson and Notre Dame fell, LSU, Texas A&M and other top teams strengthened their standing.

www.espn.com

Bonagura: No. 9 Texas at No. 8 Illinois
Schlabach: No. 10 Illinois at No. 7 Florida State

CFP National Quarterfinal at Rose Bowl

Bonagura: No. 8 Illinois vs. No. 1 Ohio State

Bowl Projections After Week 3: Arch Manning vs. Bryce Underwood on New Year’s Eve

Notre Dame and Clemson likely took themselves out of the College Football Playoff race, shaking up the bowl picture downstream.

www.si.com

ReliaQuest Bowl

Dec. 31

Illinois vs. Ole Miss

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25248983-cfp-playoff-bracket-scenarios-and-bowl-projections-after-2025-26-week-4-ap-rankings

No. 9 Florida State at No. 8 Illinois

Bowl projections: Florida State joins College Football Playoff, Notre Dame hangs on

Some playoff contenders stepped up in Week 3 of the college football season and others fell back in this week's bowl projections.

www.usatoday.com

Dec. 19 or 20

CFB Playoff First Round

Texas at Illinois

winner faces (1) Ohio State

College Football Bowl Projections Week 4: Full list of matchups, playoff predictions

The latest bowl projections after Week 4 of the college football season. Is Florida State now in the playoffs?

www.on3.com

Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 31): Washington vs. Illinois

https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/bowl-projections-week-4-updated-2025

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl

Wednesday, December 31, 2025
3:30, ESPN
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Bowl Affiliations: Big Ten, Former Pac-12
Last Season: USC 35, Texas A&M 31
Last. Week: Indiana Hoosiers vs Arizona State Sun Devils

Illinois Fighting Illini vs Arizona Wildcats

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/bowl-projections-2025

No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 11 Illinois

redwingillini11 · Sep 23, 2025

*sigh*

College Football Playoff, bowl projections following Week 4

Indiana and Texas Tech opened some eyes Saturday. How do their big wins impact the bowl picture?

www.espn.com

Music City Bowl
Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee)
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Schlabach: Illinois vs. Auburn

ReliaQuest Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
Noon, ESPN
Bonagura: Illinois vs. Tennessee

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. 30

Music City

Illinois

vs.

Tennessee

Big Ten vs. SEC