IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 07: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini before the match-up against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 7, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

There are some Illinois football fans that are more optimistic than others for the upcoming 2018 campaign.

For me, I think the Illini have a legit shot at getting to four or five wins and possibly making a bowl game with their sixth win somewhere in there. I truly believe that and there are some fans who will scoff at this.

Is it possible for Illinois to make the national title, though? The answer is technically, yes, but I highly doubt the Illini will pull off a magical season that sees them make the College Football Playoff. Las Vegas is onboard with that thought as well.

The most recent odds to win the national title in 2018 – the title game is actually in 2019 – has Alabama to repeat going off at 5-2 odds. This doesn’t surprise anyone. They are the best team in the nation and their third stringers can start for just about any team in the nation.

Ohio State is the highest favorite to come out of the Big Ten. They are going off at 8-1 right now. They are followed by Michigan at 10-1 and then Penn State at 12-1. Michigan State and Wisconsin follow them at 25-1. Northwestern, Purdue, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota all check in at 200-1 to win the national title next season. You then have to go all the way down to 500-1 to find Indiana and Maryland.

Illinois is then found – along with Rutgers – at 1000-1 to win the national title in 2018. So, what this means is, if you bet 10-dollars on the Illini to win the title next year and they do, you would win 10,000-dollars. That is awfully tempting but I feel like I would be throwing away money at this point.

Some Illini fans probably think, wow that is bad. But I think so you’re telling me there is a chance?