It hasn't been the best start to the season for Illinois. It's not always about how you start, but how you finish, and the Illini still have a good shot at making it to a bowl game at the end of the season.
Even though we are only four weeks into the college football season, it's never really too early to think about bowl games. Illinois may be 2-2 on the season, but the rest of its schedule is favorable when it comes to bowl eligibility. Now, in the Bret Bielema era, Illinois has made it to three bowl games, all against SEC opponents, and it looks like that trend could continue.
Heading into Week 5, Illinois is projected to head to the Birmingham Bowl, facing off against the Oklahoma Sooners.
College Football Bowl Projections via @Brett_McMurphy📍
— On3 (@On3) September 29, 2026
Full list: https://t.co/UdtpI8vmbi pic.twitter.com/hVMaCQUYqK
Illinois gets another SEC foe as their 2026 bowl projection
Now, it is not like it is totally out of the picture that Illinois could make it to the College Football Playoff, but the chances feel pretty slim. With two losses to Duke and Ohio State, the Illini would have to win out the rest of the season and hope there are some big upsets around college football. As I said, it's not impossible, but with Oregon, Iowa, and UCLA left on the schedule, it would be an uphill climb.
With that said, taking a look at bowl games seems like the better route for the Illini. Last season, Illinois took down Tennessee in the Music City Bowl and South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl in the 2024 season. Bielema didn't get his team bowl-eligible in 2023, but did make it to his first bowl game with the Illini in 2022, facing Mississippi State in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Now, with the new projection of facing Oklahoma in a bowl game this season, it would be Bielema's fourth SEC opponent in five years, and he could get his third win. There has been a big debate over the last few seasons about whether or not the Big Ten has dethroned the SEC as the college football powerhouse after winning the National Championship the last three years, and there is merit to that statement.
In the last three seasons, the Big Ten has won more bowl games than the SEC, and yes, they have two more teams than the SEC, but the numbers aren't even close. The Big Ten went 11-5 in 2025, 11-6 in 2024, and 6-4 in 2023, compared to the SEC going 4-10 in 2025, 8-7 in 2024, and 5-4 in 2023.
So, if Illinois does end up facing an Oklahoma team that is on the struggle bus big time right now, Bielema could help add to the win column for the Big Ten and prove which conference is stronger.
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