Illinois Football: How a 12-team playoff would have affected Illini history

Listen, I know the title might sound like a bit of a joke because of how bad Illinois football has been recently, but we have been a solid team at points throughout history.

The 12-team playoff that is being pushed and will probably be effective sometime, potentially, in 2023, wouldn’t affect the Illini too much in recent memory. The first time Illinois would really be in the discussion is back in 2007.

Here is how a playoff would have impacted the Illinois football team.

• 2007 Season

Remember this great season? Illinois took down No. 1 Ohio State and would eventually make the Rose Bowl. Well, with the new 12-team playoff, that Rose Bowl wouldn’t have happened. Illinois finished No. 13 in the BCS Poll, which there are only 12 teams to make the new playoff. That would leave the Illini on the outside looking in.

• 2001 Season

Now let’s go back to 2001 when Illinois won the Big Ten and was the No. 8 team in the nation in the BCS Poll. That would put the Illini in the field of 12 teams vying for a national title.

The way the tournament is projected to work, the top four teams will get a bye in the first round with the bottom eight teams trying to advance. So, I assume 5 vs 12, 6 vs 11, 7 vs 10 and 8 vs 9. So, if that was the case in 2001, the No. 8 seed Illini would go up against the No. 9 seed Stanford for the chance to, most likely, play one of the best teams in the history of college football in Miami (FL).

While Illinois would likely have been steamrolled by Miami (FL), because Miami (FL) steamrolled everyone that year, they might have had a chance at taking down the Cardinal in the first round. Stanford didn’t have a great program and ended up losing in the Seattle Bowl to Georgia Tech. This was an all-time talented Illini team, so I think we would have won a playoff game if it had existed in 2001.

• 1989 Season

The next season to look at is the 1989 campaign. Illinois played well that year, going 10-2 overall and finishing second in the Big Ten with a record of 7-1. This great run enabled the Illini to finish the regular season ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll.

If you go by the format described above, then the No. 11 ranked Illini would go up against a tough No. 6 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers team, then in the Big 8. Nebraska was beatable in 1989, though. Illinois was being led by Jeff George, who would end up being the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. It wouldn’t shock me to see the Illini advance.

The winner of the 6 vs 11 would then take on the No. 3 ranked Michigan Wolverines. This would have been Illinois vs Michigan once again, as the Wolverines took down the Illini in the regular season 24-10. It would have been television gold.

• 1983 Season

Illinois had a pretty good program in the 1980s. Their best season had to be in 1983 when the team went 10-2 overall and won the Big Ten with a record of 9-0. The Illini would go on to finish the regular season ranked No. 4 in the nation.

Being ranked No. 4 would put the Illini into the bye week awaiting the winner of the No. 5 vs No. 12. That year, Miami (FL) was the No. 5 seed, and they would have played No. 12 Clemson. Miami (FL) probably would have won that game and beat Illinois in the next round.

The bowl games that year featured Illinois getting pounded in the Rose Bowl by UCLA. Miami (FL) would play Nebraska and would take down the No. 1 ranked Cornhuskers to claim the national title. So, yes, a playoff would have changed everything in 1983.

• The Rest of History

1983 is as far back as I will go in detail, but Illinois would have been impacted in various other seasons. Specifically, the Illini were a legendary program pre-1970s, so a playoff format would have changed much of their history. Hopefully, the Orange and Blue will continue to get back to winning so we can be impacted by the playoff in the near future.