Since 2000, bowl bids have been hard to come by for Illinois, and wins in those games have been even harder to come by. The Illini will appear in just their third bowl game since 2000 on Dec. 29, marking their first since the 2008 Rose Bowl, and have a chance to record their first win in a bowl game since 1999. Here’s a look at the Orange and Blue’s previous five bowl appearances and their outcomes.
1992 Holiday Bowl — Hawaii 37, Illinois 27
The ’92 Holiday Bowl ended Lou Tepper’s first year as Illini head coach and was the Illini’s fifth straight bowl game.
Illinois quarterback Jason Verduzco opened the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown pass to receiver John Wright, and the 6-4-1 Illini went into halftime with a 10-7 lead.
But the 10-2 Rainbow Warriors took the lead in the second half as running back Travis Sims, who ran for 113 yards on the day, scored his second touchdown of the game. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, a failed lateral gave Hawaii the ball at the 21-yard-line, but the Illini held them to a field goal. An interception from Verduzco, though, gave the Rainbow Warriors the ball back and Wright effectively ended the Illini’s chances with another touchdown reception.
1994 Liberty Bowl — Illinois 30, East Carolina 0
Quarterback Johnny Johnson had one of the best games of his career as he scored four touchdown passes in his first bowl game.
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The Illini took a commanding 14-0 first quarter lead on Johnson touchdown passes to Ken Dilger and Jasper Strong as the Illini cruised to victory.
The defense allowed 271 yards but forced four interceptions and a fumble in the dominating victory.
1999 Micron PC Bowl — Illinois 63, Virginia 21
Illinois took some time off from the postseason, and it was good to be back for Illini great Kurt Kittner.
Kittner drove the Illini 74 yards for a touchdown, but the first quarter was tight at 14-7 after Thomas Jones rushed for a 7-yard touchdown. The second quarter is when the Illini broke the game open as Kittner passed for three touchdowns in the quarter and Jameel Cook rushed for another one as the Illini took a 42-7 lead into halftime.
Kittner passed for four touchdowns on the day and ran for another one in the Illini route.
2002 Sugar Bowl — LSU 47, Illinois 34
The game wasn’t as close as the score, as LSU took a 28-0 lead in the first half, three touchdowns coming from running back Domanick Davis and another came from quarterback Rohan Davey to receiver Josh Reed.
Kittner threw for 182 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to cut the LSU lead to 13. But the Illini weren’t able to get any closer, as LSU ran out the clock on the rest of the game.
2008 Rose Bowl — USC 49, Illinois 17
In the only bowl game for any current Illini players, the Illini dug themselves a hole with four turnovers. Early in the game, Justin Harrison intercepted John David Booty and returned it for 45 yards, but the Illini didn’t score as Jason Reda missed a field goal.
The Illini went into the break down 21-3, but Rashard Mendenhall opened up the second half with a 79-yard touchdown run.
But USC scored four touchdowns in a row before redshirt freshman quarterback Eddie McGee threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Arrelious Benn in Benn’s first and only bowl game for the Illini.
