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Football Wed Dec 29 2010
Big Ten Goes Bowling: Illinois vs. Baylor
College football's swollen bowl season features eight Big Ten teams, but hopefully you have better things to do this final week of the year than stare vacantly at the TV for 25 or 30 anticlimactic hours. Let us help you decide which of those games might be worth your time.
Off to a good start with Iowa's rousing win over Missouri last night in the Insight Bowl, the smorgasbord continues tonight with the Fighting Illini.
Texas Bowl
Illinois (6-6) vs. Baylor (7-5)
Reliant Stadium, Houston
5 p.m., ESPN
Watchability factor: Below average
Dynamic quarterback Robert Griffin led Baylor to its first bowl appearance in 16 years, but it's hard to get too excited for a meeting of teams with a combined 13-11 record. Illinois closed the regular season with three losses in four games -- the lone win a romp over Northwestern at Wrigley Field. Chicagoans will remember how dominant Mikel Leshoure and the Illini running game were that afternoon, and they'll need more where that came from as Corey Liuget, Martez Wilson and the defense battle Griffin.
Preview information | Illinois keys to the game | Extreme scouting nerdiness