Illinois

Illinois bowl game projections: Updated predictions highlighted by Citrus Bowl game

Published

2 years ago

December 5, 2024

Illinois bowl game projections: Updated predictions highlighted by Citrus Bowl game

The Illinois Fighting Illini football team heads to the bowl season parked No. 21 in all three major polls: the US LBM coaches poll, The Associated Press poll and the College Football Playoff rankings.

Now, where will the Illini play this college football postseason?

Coach Bret Bielema and the Illini will find out their postseason details this weekend. With the CFP now released, here is what experts now are saying about the Illini landing place in bowl season.

Will Illinois make a bowl game?

Yes. The No. 21-ranked Illini have won nine games and secured a bowl bid for the second time in three seasons under Bielema, who is now 27-22 in four seasons in Champaign.

Every expert has the Illini playing in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve against a member of the SEC.

It seems as if Alabama does not make the CFP, the Crimson Tide will be the Illini opponent. If Bama gets one of the last at-large slots, South Carolina or Ole Miss will be the likely Illinois opponent.

Here is a full list of the experts choices, some of which have not been updated since the latest CFP rankings.

Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. Ole Miss, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (College Football News)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (247 Sports)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. Alabama, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (Bleacher Report)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (Sports Illustrated)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (Action Network’s Brett McMurphy)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (New York Times)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (USA Today)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. Ole Miss, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (CBS Sports)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (Athlon Sports)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina, Dec. 31, Orlando, Fla. (Sporting News)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (ESPN’s Mark Schlabach)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. Alabama, Dec. 31, in Orlando, Fla. (ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura)
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina, Dec. 31, Orlando, Fla. (College Football Network)

When is CFP bracket out?

The final College Football Playoff top 25 rankings and the CFP playoff bracket will be released on Sunday, Dec. 8, one day after conference championship games. The show airs on ESPN from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

When is bowl game schedule out?

Bowl games will be settled Sunday, Dec. 8, after the College Football Playoff committee reveals the field for the first 12-team playoff, after which bowls will begin officially announcing agreements. Bowl season begins Dec. 14.

What bowl games are in College Football Playoff?

The College Football Playoff quarterfinals and semifinals rotate annually among six bowl games:

Cotton Bowl
Orange Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Rose Bowl
Sugar Bowl

The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

When do College Football Playoff games start

The College Football Playoff first round begins on Friday, Dec. 20 and will air on ABC/ESPN at 7 p.m. The other three first-round games are Saturday, Dec. 21 on TNT Sports and ABC/ESPN. These four games are at campus sites.

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Illinois

Beecher City farm suffers heavy damage following ‘wicked storm’

Published

2 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Beecher City farm suffers heavy damage following ‘wicked storm’

BEECHER CITY, Ill. (WAND) – Farms were damaged in Effingham County Wednesday evening when a powerful storm swept through at around 8 p.m.

The McKay Farm in Beecher City was heavily damaged when the rapidly moving storm hit.

“Two buildings were totally destroyed,” Dan McKay told WAND News on Thursday. “We’ve got five grain bins and they’re all damaged.”

The buildings collapsed onto farm equipment and a semi that were parked in the structures. A utility pole was snapped and ripped out of the ground.

In nearby Shumway, another farm was hit. A barn collapsed, with a grain bin being ripped apart and debris traveling several hundred feet through a nearby corn field. A house on the property was also damaged.

There were no injuries on either farm.

“It was a really wicked storm,” McKay stated.

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Illinois

Powerful tornadoes leave behind devastation in Illinois

Published

13 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Powerful tornadoes leave behind devastation in Illinois – CBS News

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Violent tornadoes ripped through central Illinois on Wednesday, leaving behind swaths of destruction. One man described how he shielded himself and his family from the storms. Rob Marciano reports.

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Illinois

Storms bring damaging winds and heavy rains to central Illinois

Published

23 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Storms bring damaging winds and heavy rains to central Illinois

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Multiple rounds of severe storms impacted central Illinois on Wednesday bringing damaging wind gusts and very heavy rain. Our area was sparred from the worst of the tornadoes, but areas south of I-72 were not so fortunate with damage to homes and injuries reported.

An outflow boundary from our morning storms struggled to get any further north than highway 136, which was about 30 miles south of what was anticipated early this morning. This kept the risk of strong tornadoes just south of our local region, though we still had plenty of rain and instances of large hail and gusty winds roll through central Illinois.

The worst of the wind came with the storms in the morning. As the severe storms moved through the area they produced measured gust of 60-70 mph with localized gusts estimated to be around 80 mph. The winds resulted in tree, powerline, and structural damage from Knox through McLean County.

Storm Reports

Galesburg – Tree and power line damage
Williamsfield – Roof partially torn off building
Princeville – Tree damage
Dunlap – 60 mph wind gust
Bellevue – 60 mph wind gust
Germantown Hills – Trees down
Roanoke – 60 mph wind gust
El Paso – Power poles snapped
El Paso – Multiple semis and campers rolled on I-39
Gidley – 70 mph wind gust
Chenoa – Semi rolled on I-55

Dunlap – 1.0″ size hail
Metamora – 1.0″ size hail
Armington – 1.0″ size hail

Rain reports

West Peoria – 4.37″
Lexington – 4.00″
West Peoria – 3.98″
Washington – 3.97″
East Peoria – 3.47″
Dunlap – 3.40″
Goodfield – 2.47″
Towanda – 2.43″
Peoria (PIA) – 2.24″
Lewistown – 2.20″
Galesburg – 1.84″
Chillicothe – 1.52″
Pontiac – 1.27″