Illinois football head coach Bret Bielema took another shot at the SEC amid College Football Playoff expansion talks. The new twelve-team field was a clear success, with several programs given realistic access to contend for a national championship. There are, however, two clear super conferences in the Big Ten and SEC, which is a shame, that have been at odds with the committee and each other over the format recently.

There have been calls for more automatic bids tied to these conferences or an expansion of the field. And Bielema has been clear about how he views the SEC before and got brutally honest about the state of the playoffs in an interview with college football insider Nicole Auerbach.

“I don’t think there’s any way we could do a 16-team playoff if (the SEC) is not at nine (conference) games. We voted unanimously as Big Ten coaches to stay at nine and actually maybe have an SEC challenge. I was told that they voted unanimously to stay at eight and not play the Big Ten. But then some people pop off and say what they want to say because they want to look a certain way.”

Illinois football is gearing up for an exciting 2025 season

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The Fighting Illini head into 2025 with a team set to compete for a College Football Playoff berth. Bret Bielema, who has had success in the Big Ten before, has built this program steadily over his four years until his breakout season in 2024. Illinois football went 10-3 last season, finishing it with a heated bowl game victory over South Carolina. The best news for this year's team is Luke Altmyer is back under center with All-Conference aspirations.

In addition, the Fighting Illini have an interesting schedule that gives them the opportunity to rack up even more wins than last year. The only daunting game on the slate is a home clash with Ohio State halfway into the season at home. There's a realistic chance Illinois football is undefeated going into that matchup, and if so, the hype in Champaign would be close to an all-time high.

Overall, Bret Bielema has every right to take shots at the SEC, especially after the bowl win against South Carolina. The two conferences are at war right now for at-large bids into the playoff with its current format. The Big Ten got four teams in while the SEC got three. Ohio State ended up winning it all, while Texas made it the farthest from the SEC to the semifinals. The Fighting Illini are trying to break into that class, but it's still a long climb to the top. That said, this program is heading in the right direction.