Illinois Football Week 7 Bowl Projections: Are the Illini Headed to Charlotte?

Several experts peg the Illini for a postseason trip to Charlotte and the Duke Mayo Bowl

Dec 27, 2023; Charlotte, NC, USA; Trophies wait for the winner between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Illinois football has gone bowling all of seven times this century – a sad, puny number. At least there’s reason to be confident it will grow by one this season. But how good of a destination will the Illini (4-1) reach, assuming they qualify?

As of Week 7, most postseason projections have the Big Ten sending three teams – Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State, in whatever order – to the College Football Playoff. There could be at least seven other slots to fill, based on the conference’s bowl ties: the Citrus (vs. the SEC), ReliaQuest (SEC), Duke’s Mayo (ACC), Music City (SEC), Pinstripe (ACC), Guaranteed Rate (Big 12) and Quick Lane (MAC).

Here’s where some of the leading prognosticators have the Illini pegged right now:

Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Charlotte, North Carolina, Jan. 3:

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy has the Illini facing Virginia, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has them facing SMU and 247 Sports’ Brad Crawford has them pitted against Louisville.

ART BUT MAKE IT MAYO.@DukesMayonnaise pic.twitter.com/jcqzs8jcJd

— Duke's Mayo Bowl (@DukesMayoBowl) September 8, 2024

Pinstripe Bowl, New York, Dec. 28:

Both College Football News and ESPN’s Mark Schlabach have the Illini going nose-to-nose with Syracuse.

Music City Bowl, Nashville, Tennessee, Dec. 30:

As ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura has it, it’ll be Illinois against LSU.

Beating Purdue on Saturday might not change the calculus much. Beating Michigan the weekend after that would, though – a lot. If Illinois gets to 6-1, playoff talk will commence.