Illinois joins list of bowl eligible with huge comeback

Published

Several more teams became bowl eligible this week — none with more flair than Illinois.

The Illini beat Michigan State 37-34 after trailing 28-3 in the second quarter and 31-10 at the start of the fourth. It's the first time Illinois has been bowl eligible since 2014, and it was the biggest comeback in school history. Coach Lovie Smith's team upset Wisconsin last month, and that was the start of a four-game winning streak that is still going.

There are 53 teams that are bowl eligible so far:

Air Force

Alabama

Appalachian State

Auburn

Baylor

Boise State

Central Florida

Central Michigan

Cincinnati

Clemson

Florida

Florida Atlantic

Georgia

Georgia State

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas State

Louisiana-Lafayette

Louisiana Tech

LSU

Marshall

Memphis

Miami

Michigan

Minnesota

Navy

Nevada

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Oregon

Penn State

Pittsburgh

San Diego State

SMU

Southern California

Southern Mississippi

Temple

Texas

Texas A&M

Toledo

Tulane

UAB

Utah

Virginia

Wake Forest

Washington

Western Kentucky

Western Michigan

Wisconsin

Wyoming