Bret Bielema jokes Illinois would 'probably be a top-15 team' if Illini were in the SEC after getting to 6-3

Bret Bielema's Illinois squad got off to a disastrous start to the season, opening the year 2-3 with one of the nation's worst defenses. After losing to Purdue at home, it seemed the Illini might be in for a long year in the Big Ten's basement, but a defensive coordinator change and a well-timed bye week have seen Illinois go on a four-game winning streak. 

After beating Nebraska 24-13 on Friday night, Illinois is riding a four-game winning streak and is bowl-eligible again at 6-3. Bielema and his staff have done an incredible job getting a defense that was giving up north of 34 points per game through the first six weeks dialed back in after the bye, allowing 13.3 points per game in their last three wins. 

That improvement had Bielema sticking his chest out a bit on Friday night and taking a crack at the first batch of College Football Playoff Rankings that showed an awful lot of love to the SEC. 

"I think about as we're building things here at Illinois, now we're three seasons in a row that we'll have postseason play, which is absolutely awesome and really hard for anybody," Bielema said, via ESPN. "... If we were in the SEC, we'd probably be a top-15 team. We've just got to continue to stay on track where we're at and do a really good job of holding the moment and putting ourselves in a position to be successful."

While top 15 is being facetious, a few three-loss teams have cracked the top 25 -- No. 21 South Carolina, No. 23 Oregon and No. 24 Florida. Bielema noted that while the Illini are thrilled to get to bowl eligibility, their dreams of crashing the playoff aren't completely dead. 

Depending on what happens the rest of the way in a fascinating Week 10 slate, several other teams could join that group at three losses, and with the carnage we've seen around the country, it seems like a lock that by the end of the year there are a couple of three-loss squads sniffing around the top 12. 

The Illini are unlikely to be among the teams given serious consideration with three losses, but if they've rattled off seven straight wins that include Oregon, UCLA and Iowa (the latter two being their next two opponents), Bielema would have a real case for Illinois being deserving of consideration at the least. 

A playoff berth this season may be far-fetched, but the Illini will be one of the teams likely to benefit from the expansion to 24 teams in 2027. Bielema has built that program into a perennial threat to finish in the top 25, and once the field doubles, Illinois will have a great opportunity to make its first appearance in the dance. 

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