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Lovie Smith, Illinois embracing possibility of a bowl game: We’re just getting started
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Illinois is on the verge of putting together its best season in five years.
The Illini entered Saturday’s game riding back-to-back wins. That put the team at 4-4 on the season with a shot at getting to six wins. After dismantling Rutgers by a final score of 38-10, Lovie Smith and company need just one more to reach bowl eligibility.
Illinois has not reached bowl eligibility since 2014 and the team has not reached seven wins in a season since 2011. 2011 was also the last time the Illini won a bowl game.
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Though Illinois has not reached bowl eligibility in three previous seasons under Smith, they have already eclipsed their best win total under him. However, now at 5-4 on the season with three games left, Smith admitted Saturday that the team is embracing the challenge and possibility of being bowl eligible.
Here’s everything Smith had to say after the game, including his comment that the Illini are just getting started:
#illini Lovie on radio: We have to be pumped up as much as we ever have been since we've been here. We're one win from being bowl eligible. That's something we're going to embrace.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) November 2, 2019
#Illini HC Lovie Smith: No major injuries, which puts us in position for the biggest game since I've been here.
— Erich Fisher (@ETFisher24) November 2, 2019
Final @IlliniFootball 38 Rutgers 10. Coach Lovie Smith postgame “We haven’t talked about a bowl game…we’ll start talking about that, absolutely.”
— WLS-AM 890 (@wlsam890) November 2, 2019
#illini Lovie: "We're just getting started."
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) November 2, 2019
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.