Saturday ended with seven Big Ten teams having reached bowl eligibility, and who would have guessed 11 weeks ago that Illinois would not be  one of them? As everyone knows by now, the Illini must win at Northwestern next week to have any chance of being selected for a bowl game.

That much we know.

Before the Illini lost to Ohio State, an Alamo Bowl official told me that the Illini would be an attractive option if they finished 6-6, preferably with a win over the Buckeyes. But now it appears that seven Big Ten teams will finish with an overall record of 7-5 or better. Wo where would that leave Illinois?

The selection order for the Big Ten’s bowl partners is as follows: Rose Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Outback Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Champs Sports Bowl, Insight Bowl and Motor City Bowl.

If Illinois wins its regular season finale, it will have to wait awhile before the bowl mess is sorted to find out where or if a game is interested. The selection rules are complicated and not worth explaining in depth.

The Illini would be best served by winning and having two Big Ten teams advance to BCS bowls. That would leave six conference bowl partners and six bowl eligible teams. But if they finish 6-6 that doesn’t mean they would automatically be relegated to the Motor City Bowl.

For instance, the Alamo and Champs Sports bowls both can pick any eligible Big Ten team except one that has two fewer wins or two more losses. So a 6-6 team could go over a 7-5 team.

The Insight and Motor City bowls don’t have restrictions and can pick a 6-6 team over an 8-4 team if that’s what is deemed best for their games.

There are an abundance of other guidelines that only serve to make the situation more confusing. But suffice to say, an Illinois win could create numerous possibilities that will take time to sort through.