Lovie Smith previews Redbox Bowl matchup with Cal
Illinois is headed west for its first bowl game since 2014!
The destination for the Illini is Santa Clara, California for the Redbox Bowl. On the other side, Illinois will be facing off with California for the contest.
Playing in the postseason allows Illinois a shot at its first winning season since 2011. It is also an opportunity to continue the growth of the program by getting the young players a chance to practice and play meaningful snaps.
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Following Sunday’s announcement of the bowl, head coach Lovie Smith addressed the opportunity ahead of the team. Jeremy Werner with the Illini Inquirer shared Smith’s comments:
#illini Lovie: The goal is to become Big Ten champs someday. Our program will eventually get there. In the meantime, we're going to keep building. It's a process we're going through right now. Part of the process was a bowl season. Won't apologize for six wins. We're excited.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 8, 2019
#illini Lovie: We get a chance to practice more. We're focused on recruiting and academics. We'll start prepping for Cal this week but hitting the road recruiting. About to get on a plane. The response we've gotten has changed.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 8, 2019
#illini Lovie: Don't know an awful lot about Cal yet. But they're a bowl team from a tough conference. That'll be a good challenge for us.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 8, 2019
#illini Lovie: The anticipation of the bowl reveal was there. Word started getting out. We still had a lot of excitement. It's something we'll remember.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 8, 2019
#illini Lovie: Last bowl game (with Ohio State in 1995) was against Tennessee and Peyton Manning.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 8, 2019
#illini Lovie: The best football team I think we'll have in a long time is this one we have coming next season. But there's a big difference for us between 6-7 and 7-6.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 8, 2019
#illini Lovie: We want to be a bowl team every year and have our program to where it's more than (just making a bowl). But in 2019, that's exactly where we want to be."
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 8, 2019
This year’s Redbox Bowl is set to kick off on Dec. 30 at 4 pm EST. Coverage will be on FOX.
