It’s December, and Illinois fans are still talking about football. The Illini will learn their bowl destination Sunday, although it could be settled Saturday night. Best-case scenario? The Rose Bowl. If not, the No. 15 Illini would like to climb at least a spot in the BCS (which would happen if 1 of 4 teams lose), become BCS-bowl eligible and possibly earn a date in the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl.
Here’s an optimistic look at Saturday’s games through the prism of a blue-and-orange lens:
BEST CASE: ROSE BOWL
No. 9 Oklahoma over No. 1 Missouri
Big 12 title game, 7 p.m., WLS-Ch. 7
OR
Pittsburgh over No. 2 West Virginia
6:45 p.m., ESPN
The skinny: The Illini need Ohio State to climb into the BCS championship game. For that to happen, top-ranked Missouri would have to lose to Oklahoma, a three-point favorite. If Missouri wins, that means 28 1/2 -point underdog Pitt, coached by Dave Wannstedt, would have to upset No. 2 West Virginia. If Ohio State makes the BCS title game, would the Rose Bowl dare not pick Illinois? Certainly Georgia is a possibility. But if the Rose Bowl bosses shun the Illini, they’d be ignoring one of the oldest college football traditions: Big Ten vs. Pac-10 in Pasadena.
NEXT-BEST CASE: FIESTA OR SUGAR BOWL
No. 6 Virginia Tech over No. 11 Boston College
ACC title game
noon, WLS-Ch. 7 Va. Tech favored by 4 1/2
OR
Washington over No. 12 Hawaii
10:30 p.m., ESPN2 Hawaii favored by 14
OR
Arizona over No. 13 Arizona State
7 p.m., ESPN2 Arizona St. favored by 7
OR
No. 7 LSU over No. 14 Tennessee
SEC title game
3 p.m., WBBM-Ch. 2 LSU favored by 7 1/2
The Fiesta: Would Fiesta pick Illinois over hometown Arizona State? The bowl was created partly to give good ASU teams somewhere to play, but nowadays the flock of tourists from Illinois would be a welcome sight for game vs. Kansas.
The Sugar: If Rose and Fiesta pass, there’s nothing wrong with New Year’s on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
WORST CASE: CAPITAL ONE BOWL
The skinny: Illinois would be available to the Big Ten’s top tie-in after the Rose Bowl if it is bypassed by the BCS bowls. Hard to see the Capital One passing over the Illini and a chance to reunite Illini coach Ron Zook with his last employer, the Florida Gators.
———-
tabannon@tribune.com
