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Illinois Football: 3 reasons Minnesota is a must-win for the Illini

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 31, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini punter Blake Hayes (14) celebrates his touchdown with running back Chase Brown (2) during the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 31, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini punter Blake Hayes (14) celebrates his touchdown with running back Chase Brown (2) during the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 30, 2019; Santa Clara, California, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini run out of the tunnel before the game against the California Golden Bears at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Record and Bowl Chances

The 2019 campaign was fun because you could see a lot of the hard work paying off for the Illinois football program.

After a few rough years, the Illini were back in a bowl after winning six games that season. But this isn’t 2019 anymore. We are now into the 2020 campaign and have started the season 0-2.

This isn’t a normal season either. With only eight games on the slate, all of which are Big Ten contests, Illinois is going to need four wins, I believe, to get into a bowl game. Those four wins have to come in the conference, but we have put ourselves behind the eight ball early on.

Realistically, the Illini now need to go 4-2 on the way out to have a chance at going bowling. That is why this game on Saturday is so important and is a must-win. This is one of the “easier” games remaining on the schedule.

Illinois heads to Rutgers, who is much-improved this season, and then to Nebraska in the two games following the contest against the Gophers. With No. 3 Ohio State, Iowa and Northwestern to finish out the season, things look extremely tough for the Orange and Blue.

Winning on Saturday is a must if we want to get to .500 this season and potentially make a bowl game. Let’s take this one game at a time. Let’s bet the Gophers.

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