The Illinois football team awaits the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday with the No. 17 ranking in the country.
To put things in perspective, the Illini have only been ranked in three out of the last 14 seasons of football. With that being said, those three seasons have come in the last four campaigns under Bret Bielema.
Expectations have changed, and really, starting last season, Illinois has College Football Playoff expectations each season. We have gone from just hoping to get to the six-win mark to now wanting more and expecting more, rightfully so.
The loss to Indiana a few weeks ago was a blow to the College Football Playoff hopes. Losses happen, though. Nearly every program will go through a loss or two, but can you win the necessary games to get to the coveted CFP?
Illinois has a chance to do something special on Saturday. Not every team in college football gets this chance. The Illini will take on the No. 1 team in the country.
Ohio State has held this spot since September 1, and they haven’t been close to relinquishing it. A win for the Buckeyes doesn’t move the needle much for them and their fanbase. For Illinois, a win would be a historic moment.
What would it mean for Illinois football’s College Football Playoff status if we take down Ohio State
Let’s dream a little bit, why don’t we? Illinois has a golden opportunity to shock the world. Taking down No. 1 Ohio State would send shockwaves through the college landscape.
The impact of a win on the program would be enormous. Recruiting would take a bump up. Program prestige goes through the roof. Bielema goes from a really good coach to one of the greats in program history.
Moreover, Illinois would have full control of our College Football Playoff destiny. Winning out would enable us to go 11-1, and we have a win over the Buckeyes. That gets us a spot in the Big Ten Championship game, and we would have a locked spot in the College Football Playoff.
That is the dream scenario, but there are two other scenarios that I think could happen on Saturday.
The much less glamorous scenario No. 2 is that Illinois loses a tough battle with Ohio State. What would that do for our College Football Playoff hopes?
Well, I think it makes the road obviously a little tougher. A close loss helps erase the bad loss to Indiana. This shows that we can compete with the top teams in the country. I don’t think the Illini drop too far in the AP Top 25 with a close loss either.
Illinois would still need some help to make the College Football Playoff, but finishing 10-2 overall with our only losses to top 10 teams in Indiana and Ohio State could get us a spot. A team like Tennessee got in last season with two losses, one to Arkansas and the other to No. 12 Georgia.
And then there is the worst of the three scenarios. Illinois gets trucked by Ohio State. That completely eliminates us from College Football Playoff contention. No way the selection committee sees two blowout losses to CFP teams, and then decides to put Illinois in the 12-team playoff.
There is a ton at stake on Saturday for the Illinois football team. A win sets a trajectory for the program we have never seen before.