About a thousand or so Illinois Fighting Illini football fans conveyed their dedication to the program by braving the freezing elements for a couple more hours beyond the game at Wrigley Field on Saturday. One of them brought a “WE WANT BAMA” sign to the 38-28 win over Northwestern at the Friendly Confines.
It was a notable expression of desire, and one that looks set to be realized.
The Citrus Bowl, staged on New Year’s Eve this year, instead of its rightful place on New Year’s Day, due to the College Football Playoff, will very likely pair the Illini against the Alabama Crimson Tide. We won’t know until Sunday, for sure, but you can see what’s going on with the college football bowl projections right now from the featured image in this post.
This is a golden opportunity for the Illini- facing the bluest of the sport’s blue bloods on a major stage. Although defending national champion and all-time wins leader Michigan would also consider themselves to hold that distinction. That’s why according to a report in RG, they’re seeking to make sure their Northwestern “road” game next year is not at Wrigley Field, but instead Soldier Field.
And you can’t blame them, because branding exercises like that are essential in this sport. And facing Alabama (or even if it’s South Carolina, or perhaps the fightin’ Lane Kiffins of Ole Miss) are major branding exercises as well. Illinois has already beaten the aforementioned Michigan this season; imagine if they rolled the Tide in ’24 too?
While the opening line for this Citrus Bowl matchup would be between 14-17 points, take it with a grain of salt.
A Bama team “relegated” to the Citrus Bowl, instead of not being in their usual place, the Playoff, may not be all that motivated.
As such, you’ll get a ton of NFL Draft and transfer portal opt-outs for this game.
You would be facing a depleted Bama team, and there is one stat that bowl game prognosticators, projectionists and oddsmakers can never calculate: Fs given.
A lot of times it’s not the better team or more talented one that wins a given bowl game. It’s the one that has more Fs to give for it.
So just showing up, and going all out (the main Illini opt-out risk, WR Pat Bryant has already said he’s going to play in the postseason game) against the Tide is a major win for the Illini.
And this Illini football season is already playing with house money right now.
“I thought we’d have a chance to win nine,” Illini coach Bret Bielema said, in the post game press conference that was staged in the Wrigley batting cages underneath the first base side.
“It’s been a long time since Illinois has won nine and I hope this is more of the norm than not.”
He’s absolutely right. his is only the eighth 9+-win season in program history, and they are now just one win away from tying the program record of 10 wins (achieved four previous times).
It’s worth noting that the three teams that beat the Illini have combined to go 30-6 (prior to Penn State’s and Oregon’s results today).
Two of Illinois’ three loses were on the road to top-3 teams in the country (at Oregon, at Penn State).
“I don’t know what the future holds,” Bielema added.
“I know I’m excited about this football team and think we can play with anyone in the country.
“Very excited to get nine wins but more importantly for our fans, administration and everyone who supports us.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.