Illinois Football: Everything the Illini need to make the College Football Playoff

13. Ohio State is toppled by the Orange and Blue

• Ohio State wins final 4 games
• Loss in Big Ten Championship game to Illinois
• 1 loss

And the final slide of this long scenario of how Illinois football is going to get into the College Football Playoff ends with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State has looked really solid this season. Their next three games are going to be easy wins, as they are at Northwestern, home vs Indiana, and then at Maryland. They won’t have to worry about any of those games.

But then the rivalry game against No. 5 Michigan pops up. In an earlier slide, I mentioned how Ohio State needs to win this game for Illinois. This would give Michigan their second loss and would seal the fate of the Wolverines not making the Big Ten Championship game and the College Football Playoff.

A win for Ohio State would result in a matchup between the Buckeyes and Illini in Indianapolis on December 3. This is what Illini fans should want. I don’t want a second match-up against Michigan. Illinois needs to beat No. 5 Michigan and then beat No. 2 Ohio State. That would give us the pop we need to make the College Football Playoff.

Despite the loss to Illinois, as long as the game would be close, Ohio State would still make the College Football Playoff. Their only loss would be to a top-10 Illinois program in the conference title game.

At the very end of the scenario I laid out, there would be just two conferences that would get teams into the College Football Playoff. I think the final rankings would be the following.

No. 1 Tennessee vs No. 4 Ohio State

No. 2 Georgia vs No. 3 Illinois

Just remember, people counted Illinois out to start the season, and we proved the doubters wrong. People are going to say this scenario is crazy, so let’s go out and prove those doubters wrong, again.