Good morning college football and Illinois Fighting Illini fans. Just four more days until the Reliaquest Bowl kicks off in Tampa! This will be Illinois' 20th bowl appearance, and they are 8-11 in their previous 19 postseason games. We'll run all this down for you, in two parts, starting with the minor bowls, which we defined as non-traditionally on New Year's Day and/or … [Read more...] about Illinois Fighting Illini: Bowl Game History Part 2/2: Major Bowls
college football bowls
Illinois Fighting Illini: Bowl Game History Part 1/2: Minor Bowls
Good morning college football and Illinois Fighting Illini fans. Just four more days until the Reliaquest Bowl kicks off in Tampa! This will be Illinois' 20th bowl appearance, and they are 8-11 in their previous 19 postseason games. We'll run all this down for you, in two parts, starting here with the minor bowls, which we defined as non-traditionally on New Year's Day … [Read more...] about Illinois Fighting Illini: Bowl Game History Part 1/2: Minor Bowls
UCLA vs. Illinois: Brutally Honest Fight Hunger Bowl Preview
Ever since the bowl matchups were announced, everyone has picked on the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl for being the the worst matchup of them all. The New Year’s Eve game features not one but both teams playing under interim coaches because the regular head coach was recently canned. And both teams made dubious "history" on the way here. Illinois comes in riding a six-game losing … [Read more...] about UCLA vs. Illinois: Brutally Honest Fight Hunger Bowl Preview
Northwestern Complete Bowl History: Cliff Notes Version
The beauty of history is that it tells us where we've been in order to figure out where we're going. Illinois took out Baylor in part one of Chicago Big Ten teams in the bowl "Texas Two-Step." And on New Year's Day, the Northwestern Wildcats will likewise have an opportunity to defeat a 7-5 Big 12 team in their home state; and a drivable distance from their campus. Just like … [Read more...] about Northwestern Complete Bowl History: Cliff Notes Version
Losing Teams in Bowl Games? How Frighteningly Realistic a Scenario
Did you think the idea of expanding the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams was backwards and just plain stupid? Worried about having too many mediocre teams undeservedly in the postseason? Well, it looks like that's about to happen, this very bowl season in college football. It's bad enough that 6-6 teams have been getting into bowl games, and getting there by scheduling creampuffs … [Read more...] about Losing Teams in Bowl Games? How Frighteningly Realistic a Scenario