Laying out a perfect Saturday roadmap for Illinois football

This is one of the biggest Saturdays in the history of the Illinois football program.

That is a crazy thing to say considering the Illini started playing football back in 1892. Illinois finished that season 7-4-1 with wins over traditional powerhouses Doane, Englewood High, and DePauw. I think we all remember that great season.

132 years later, Illinois enters a game against the No. 1 Oregon Ducks with a record of 6-1. We are ranked No. 20 in the nation and have a chance to do something special.

Illinois fans haven’t had a ton of special moments in the past 20 or so years. We all still live through that 2007 season and the magic that happened, conveniently it was also the last time we took down a No. 1 team in the nation as well.

Things usually don’t go our way, though. Despite that fact, the Illini fanbase is stubborn. We love this program and want to see it succeed. But what would that look like on Saturday?

I was just thinking, what would a perfect Saturday look like for the Illinois football program? Of course, all higher-ranked teams losing would be the best thing, but I wanted to make this realistic. Let’s dive in.

The vision of a perfect Saturday for the Illinois football team

Beat No. 1 Oregon Ducks

This is the first and most obvious answer. You can’t have a perfect Saturday if Illinois falls to Oregon.

Beating the No. 1 team in the country is going to be a monumental task. This is a great Ducks team with a quarterback who has been playing since the Reagan administration. But this is step one to achieving a perfect Saturday.

No. 24 Navy beats No. 12 Notre Dame

I want Navy to take down Notre Dame. The highest-ranked Group of Five program gets into the College Football Playoff, so it would be kind of cool to see a program like Navy get in. Moreover, Notre Dame is a brand that is going to get leeway.

The Irish already have one loss. A second loss would knock them out of the College Football Playoff. They don’t have a strong schedule in the final stretch of the season. That opens another spot for Illinois and would drop Notre Dame behind us in the polls.

Washington Beats No. 13 Indiana

This game wouldn’t have been on the list due to Indiana being much better than Washington, but the Hoosiers will be without starting quarterback, Kurtis Rourke.

An Illinois win over Oregon and a Washington win over Indiana would enable us to jump the Hoosiers in the AP Top 25. It would also drop Indiana to one loss in the Big Ten, which would help Illinois in the hunt for a Big Ten Championship berth.

No. 21 Missouri Beats No. 15 Alabama

Alabama is like a Graboid, you know, that big worm-looking thing from the movie Tremors. You think you have killed them but one false movement and they come back and grab your leg and eat you. The only way you can take them out is with some TNT. Well, Missouri is our TNT.

It would be nice if the Tigers beat the Crimson Tide on Saturday. Missouri is ranked behind Illinois in the AP Top 25 and doesn’t have the name brand like Alabama. The Crimson Tide have two losses, and a third loss would knock them out of the College Football Playoff. Without a third loss, Alabama is a lock to make the playoffs. Missouri could be our TNT to take out Alabama.

No. 5 Texas Beats No. 25 Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt has been a nice story this season, as they are usually a bottom-feeder. The Commodores are ranked and are taking on the No. 5 team in the country, Texas.

A win for Vanderbilt would skyrocket them up the AP Top 25 and give them validity. Illinois doesn’t need that. I would like for Texas to take the knockout blow to Vanderbilt’s chances of making the College Football Playoff.

No. 8 LSU Beats No. 14 Texas A&M

LSU and Texas A&M are both ahead of Illinois. I think it would be more beneficial if the Tigers beat the Aggies on Saturday, though.

Texas A&M would drop behind Illinois if we beat Oregon. The Aggies then have Texas to finish the season, which would be their third loss and would knock them out.

Duke Beats No. 22 SMU

The ACC is kind of a mess this season, so let’s make this thing even messier. I think it would be beneficial for Illinois if Duke beat SMU.

That would give SMU two losses, so they would be out of the College Football Playoff. Duke then plays at No. 6 Miami next week, which should be their second loss. Both teams will eventually be out of the running.

No. 3 Penn State beats Wisconsin

Lastly, I want to see Penn State take down Wisconsin. I think there are multiple benefits to the Nittany Lions beating the Badgers.

Penn State already has the tiebreaker in the Big Ten over Illinois. So, they aren’t likely to drop behind us in the standings. A win over Wisconsin would put the Illini ahead of the Badgers in the Big Ten as well. On top of the Big Ten race, having Penn State ranked in the top five in the country makes our only loss of the season look even better. We need Penn State to be great.