The Illinois football season is just around the corner.

On Aug. 29, the Illini will kick off the 2024 season against in-state program Eastern Illinois at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. It's expected to be an easy win to kick off a turning point season for the Illini.

Coach Bret Bielema has been up and down in his first three seasons with Illinois. The veteran coach began his Illini tenure with a 5-7 season in 2021; pushed the Illini to eight wins and a bowl in 2022; and last season fell back to 5-7.

Illinois football predictions 2024: Game-by-game picks based on ESPN matchup predictor

The Illini will play 12 regular season games in 2024, with prognosticators expecting Illinois to finish around that same .500 mark.

But what's the best-case scenario? Let's take a look.

What is Illinois football's best-case scenario for the 2024 season?

Illinois' ceiling is 8-4 overall, with a 5-4 Big Ten record.

To reach those heights, Illinois must sweep its three nonconference games. All of them are at home, with two against beatable opponents in Eastern Illinois and Central Michigan. The toughest noncon is a Sept. 7 game against Kansas, picked to finish near the top of the reworked Big 12 Conference. It's a tough but winnable game — and one that could launch the Illini.

After that, Illinois must win all four Big Ten games considered a coin flip (Purdue, Minnesota, Michigan State, Northwestern), and then split with the two road opponents against which they're slightly more than an underdog (Nebraska and Rutgers).

Illinois football: The Illini's three most important games in 2024 season

As for the rest of the schedule, there is only so much optimism. Oregon, Michigan and Penn State are too talented for this Illinois team.

An 8-4 season would put Illinois firmly into a bowl game, but which one? Despite everything going Illinois' way, this finish would leave the Illini about eighth or ninth in the Big Ten. For comparison's sake, here are the Big Ten teams that finished in that tier last season, and their bowl games: Maryland (Music City Bowl), Northwestern (Las Vegas Bowl), Wisconsin (ReliaQuest Bowl) and Rutgers (Pinstripe Bowl).

Illinois football 2024 schedule

This is the Illinois football 2024 schedule, with TV info; all times are CT.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois football best-case scenario in 2024: Bowl game and more for Illini