Illinois Football: Wait, positivity? An Illini bowl game? Yup.

Illinois football fans are coming off another tough loss that resulted in the team now sitting 3-5 overall.

The Illini should have won the game against Wisconsin. We had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, but the refs changed everything by calling targeting and ejecting Jer’Zhan Newton from the game.

It is going to be hard to shake this loss. A win would have put Illinois at 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten. We would have been right there not only for a bowl game but winning the Big Ten West would have been a possibility as well.

Now where does Illinois football go from here? Well, here is what I believe the fate of the Illini could end up being in 2023.

Bowl game.

Don’t count Illinois football out of the bowl game conversation just yet

I know that sounds like I am drinking the Orange and Blue Kool-Aid. A bowl game at 3-5? That doesn’t seem like a logical thing to say, especially with Newton being out of the first half of the next game. Let me explain.

Yes, Illinois is 3-5. We need to go 3-1 in the final four games to become bowl-eligible. And we have to do this without Newton for the first half of the next game.

After the bye week, Illinois takes on Minnesota on the road. The Golden Gophers average 20.3 points per game, which ranks No. 109 out of 133 teams in the country. So, while the Illini won’t have Newton for the first half, at least we take on a terrible offense.

But the bad offenses don’t step with Minnesota. In fact, Illinois takes on bad offenses the rest of the season. Indiana comes to town on November 11, and they average 14.0 points per game, which ranks No. 128 in the nation.

Illinois finishes the season by traveling to Iowa and then Northwestern comes to Champaign. The Hawkeyes score 19.5 points per game, which ranks No. 113 in the country. The Wildcats are slightly better at 19.7 points per game, which is one spot higher at No. 112 in the nation.

So, yes, things seem bleak right now for the Illinois football program, but let’s not count out a bowl game appearance just yet. The Illinois defense has played well and can shut down teams. We are going up against some of the worst offenses in college football in the final four games of the season.

Let’s also not forget that the Illini offense just had one of the most efficient games of the season. If we can continue playing the rest of the season as we did in the first three quarters against Wisconsin, then I have no doubt Illinois can win three out of the final four games in 2023. I’ll say it, I think the Illini will go bowling in 2023. Book it.