Illinois' First-Class Ticket to the College Football Playoff: Beat Washington

After a 53-point pounding at Indiana in Week 4, all CFP hopes essentially seemed to be lost, but the Illini quickly responded with a huge win over USC in Week 5. 

Illinois' CFP hopes are alive (and well?)

Although Bret Bielema’s club has since dropped another game, considering that result came against the nation’s top-ranked team in Ohio State, the CFP committee shouldn't judge Illinois too harshly for it.

That said, there's no room for falter in another game during the regular season if the program is to earn its first-ever CFP berth. Fortunately for them, the Illini have a relatively generous remaining slate. But their toughest challenge will be their next one: at Washington.

The Huskies, currently 5-2, with their only losses coming against Ohio State (24-6 in Seattle) and to Michigan (lost 24-7 at the Big House). Most alarmingly, at least for the Illini, is the difficulty of playing at Husky Stadium.

Washington was riding a 22-game win streak at home into 2025 … until it met Ohio State. But as we learned firsthand in Week 7, Illinois is no Ohio State (although the Illini aren’t as far off as one may have imagined).

Regardless, playing in Seattle will be far from easy sledding for Illinois. That said, the veteran Illini have plenty of experience playing in hostile environments. 

Illinois' road inconsistencies

At times, the Illini – led by seasoned quarterback Luke Altmyer – have been tremendous on the road (beating Nebraska and Rutgers in 2024, while also impressing in a loss at Penn State).

On the flip side, visiting Illinois squads have also been completely taken out of their rhythm and dominated on both sides of the ball – notably at Oregon a year ago, along with the hard-to-forget Indiana loss just a month ago. 

If they want to find themselves in the CFP later this year, the Illini must channel the former and avoid the latter. Naturally, they will lean on the poise of Altmyer on offense, but they must also rely on their veterans on defense, ideally taking advantage of Washington’s young quarterback in sophomore Demond Williams Jr. – who threw three interceptions against Michigan in his previous outing.

And if Illinois manages to get by Washington in Week 9, the expectation from there would be a 10-2 final record. The Illini would face Rutgers and Maryland at home before traveling to Wisconsin and then returning back to Champaign to take on Northwestern.

At 10-2, the Illini would need a bit of help, but they would also very likely find themselves in the 2025 College Football Playoff. The first, and most important, step in that journey: beat Washington, ideally in convincing fashion, next week.