Illinois Football Bowl Projections: Likely Destination and Opponent Update

The latest bowl projections from ESPN and Rivals both place the Illinois Fighting Illini to face the Baylor Bears in the Texas Bowl.

That game takes place between the Big Ten No. 6 seed and the Big 12 No. 6. seed in Houston at Reliant Stadium.

Considering that both the Big Ten and the Big 12 have no conference games left, these projections seem likely to happen.

Wouldn’t it be an interesting matchup if Illinois played Florida in the Gator Bowl?

Illinois fans would get a chance to see their team play in a January bowl game while Florida fans would be able to thank Ron Zook for helping bring Tim Tebow to Gainesville.

The Florida Gators finished 7-5 and seem destined to play in the Gator Bowl, according to ESPN and Rivals.

The statistic that makes this projection iffy on the Fighting Illini’s behalf is the fact that they have one game left to play, but, more importantly, the log jam of teams that finished 4-4 in the conference.

Currently Illinois, Iowa and Penn State all have the same record in Big Ten conference games.

Illinois defeated Penn State earlier in the season, so they prevail in a tie-breaker.

It gets interesting with Iowa. 

Although they have a .500 record in Big Ten games, they have lost their last three games and are coming off a disappointing season.  Their fan base may not be willing to travel to go see them play in a non-BCS bowl game.

The only other Big Ten team that could dampen the Illini’s hope of playing a bowl game in January is Michigan.

Yes, the Wolverines did beat the Illini in a shootout, but they finished with a losing 3-5 record in the conference.

The factor that gives them the edge over Illinois is that their fan base would travel better.

The best thing that the Fighting Illini can do is win their game at Fresno State on Friday night in convincing fashion, finish with a record of 7-5 and hope that the Gator Bowl selection committee calls their name this coming Sunday.

The moral of the story for Illinois is that they are going to go to a bowl game.

Whether it is in Texas against a Big 12 team or in Florida giving the Zooker a chance for redemption against his old employer, the Fighting Illini and their fans are just happy to go bowling this season.