It is mid-August, and the energy of the college football season has started to bubble to the surface.
Illinois is coming off another season where we won at least nine games. This is the first time in program history that we have won at least nine games in back-to-back seasons.
The AP Top 25 doesn’t care, though. They came out with their preseason poll on Monday, and Illinois only received nine votes to be ranked. We were behind teams like dumpster-fire Florida, Boise State, and Navy.
That doesn’t matter, though. Illinois has fought for respect over the last few seasons, and it has helped us climb into the AP Top 25 in three of those campaigns.
Illinois’ fight in 2026 is bigger than some voters who think they know who should be ranked. We have won so much that just being ranked isn’t the goal. What is the goal?
The College Football Playoff.
We saw Indiana get into the College Football Playoff the last two years, and they won it all in 2025. That is a wild thing to say, but it also gives me hope that Illinois can do the same one day.
The 2026 campaign might be able to provide a national championship run. There are plenty of winnable games for the Illini, but what it will ultimately come down to is three crucial games that will make or break our bid for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Illinois football will have its College Football Playoff hopes hinge on these three games
Saturday, September 26 – at #1 Ohio State Buckeyes
Realistically, it would be shocking if Illinois doesn’t start the 2026 season 3-0. We are better than UAB and Southern Illinois. Duke lost so much talent, and their replacements aren’t great.
If Illinois can go into The Horseshoe and beat the top team in the country, it would launch us into the top 15 without a doubt.
This would set up the rest of the 2026 campaign, and it would enable the Illini to drop a game or two along the way. This would be the foundation for a College Football Playoff bid.
Saturday, October 24 – vs. #2 Oregon Ducks
If Illinois can at least compete with Ohio State, it would give the program some credit. We then have a chance to knock off the No. 2 team in the country in October.
Illinois gets the Ducks in Champaign, which is a big difference from traveling out west. Oregon is a great team that put a hurting on us in 2025.
Taking out the No. 2 team in the country would be much like winning over Ohio State. It would be the foundation of an argument for Illinois to get into the College Football Playoff. It would allow us to have a couple of blemishes on the resume.
Saturday, November 11 – vs. #22 Iowa Hawkeyes
This game isn’t as huge as the contests against Ohio State and Oregon, but it is a massive game for the College Football Playoff.
Let’s say Illinois starts the 2026 season 8-2 with the only losses to the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. That is a good resume, but it might not get us into the College Football Playoff. We need that one good win to help strengthen our argument.
Illinois welcomes No. 22 Iowa in late November. It is the second-to-last game of the season. At this point, Illinois would likely be ranked in the top 20, but we would be on the outside looking in with an 8-2 record and no notable victories.
Iowa would be that win to get us over the hump. We struggled against this program, but a win over the Hawkeyes would put us at 9-2 overall and 1-2 against the top 25. That might be enough to have us in the College Football Playoff for the first time ever.
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