Sure, only people that go or went to Illinois really care. And even though they received a colossal four votes in the AP Poll, barring some sneaky voting in the polls, Illinois won’t be back in the Top 25 in the BCS.

But there was a point to Illinois playing on Saturday.

Illinois is now bowl eligible. I thought some of the players might have been doing “the dice thing” a bit too much. About two minutes later, I realized that I was dumb and the players were doing some obligatory bowling.

Players said after the game that Coach Zook used a step ladder before the game to signify the steps Illinois still has to take.

While it may be cheesy, it is indicative that Illinois needs to take steps to ensure that it can be invited to a decent bowl game.

The players and coaches wouldn’t speculate what game they might end up at, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t.

Illinois’ last three games feature two beatable opponents in Minnesota and Northwestern. If Illinois wins both it will finish the season at 8-4 and 5-3 in the Big Ten.

Looking ahead to the postseason there are three likely scenarios in regards to Illinois’ newfound bowl eligibility.

The first and most likely is that the Illini will finish fourth in the Big Ten behind Michigan, Ohio State and Purdue. Ohio State will play in the BCS Championship with no other teams making the BCS.

Even though Illinois is a program on the rise, I can’t imagine that a committee would pick it right now over Wisconsin, Penn State or Michigan. The committees are concerned with selling tickets, and a team that is going to travel more fans is highly attractive.

My hatred of “storied” programs aside, let’s get to the scenarios.

With the No. 4 pick in the draft, The Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29 selects Illinois.

Illinois would play against the No. 4 team from the Big 12. I think the most plausible opponent from the Big 12 may be Texas or Oklahoma State. I would prefer Texas because ESPN loves anything that has to do with the Longhorns.

Scenario two is less likely. If Illinois was the third pick out of the Big Ten it would head to Tampa Bay for the Outback Bowl. I would love nothing more than to go to Raymond James Stadium and give a SEC team a good shellacking.

And my favorite scenario: Ohio State and Michigan both go to BCS games because everyone knows the BCS committee loves them. Purdue, Wisconsin and Penn State lose out. Illinois beats Ohio State 2-0 on a last-second safety, and Illinois is picked first out of the Big Ten for the Capital One Bowl.

It isn’t logical at all, but neither is this season of college football … or bowl committees.

Daniel Johnson is a junior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].