THE Illinois football team doesn’t officially have a bowl destination, but every expert has the Fight Illini at the same landing point.
The Fighting Illini are expected to play in the Citrus bowlscheduled for 2 p.m. on New Year’s Eve at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
But who will Illinois play in the Citrus Bowl? Let’s take a look at the three most likely bowl opponents – all 9-3 SEC teams in the PCP bubble.
Advocate for the PCP: Ole Miss, South Carolina or Alabama?
Outspoken Coach Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks appear to be the favorites to face the Illini in the Fiesta Bowl. USC (9-3) is ranked No. 12 in the coaches’ poll and No. 14 in the CFP. South Carolina beat four ranked teams and didn’t suffer any “bad” losses – with losses to LSU (36-33), Ole Mademoiselle (27-3) and Alabama (27-25), all of whom were in the top 17 at the time of their games.
Another outspoken coach Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss could also be the Illini’s opponent. This would be a juicy match since Kiffin and Bret Bielema, Illini coach discussed recently, they believe that strength of schedule should be favored more in CFP selection over raw wins. Ole Mademoiselle (9-3) is ranked No. 15 in the coaches poll and No. 13 in the CFP. Ole Miss beat Georgia (28-10) and South Carolina (27-3), but lost to unranked Kentucky and Florida. Their third loss is against LSU (29-26)
THE Crimson Tide (9-3) are the least likely of this trio to face the Illini since they have the inside track to a CFP at-large bid. Alabama needs SMU to defeat Clemson in the ACC championship game, which would eliminate the Tigers and send SMU to the CFP with an automatic bid. If Clemson wins, it gets the automatic bid and SMU would enter the general candidate pool to potentially be selected at the Tide. Bama had wins over Georgia (41-34), South Carolina (27-25), Missouri (34-0) and LSU (42-13) – but lost to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. Their third defeat is against Tennessee (24-17).
When is CFP support removed?
The final Ranking the Top 25 College Football Playoffs and the CFP Playoff Table will be released on Sunday, December 8, one day after the conference championship games. The show airs on ESPN from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
When will Illinois know its bowl opponent?
Bowl games will be settled on Sunday, Dec. 8, after the College Football Playoff committee reveals the field for the first 12-team playoffs, after which bowls will begin officially announcing deals. Bowling season begins on December 14.
This article was originally published on Journal Star: Illinois Bowl Game Odds Updates: Latest News on Illini Bowl Opponent
