CHAMPAIGN - When college football's bowl lineup finally fell into place Sunday evening, the University of Illinois came out smelling like roses. | Photo gallery

Coach Ron Zook, architect of an amazing Illini turnaround, accepted an invitation to play Southern California on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl, calling it "a great day for the Illini Nation.

"What a difference two years makes," Zook said, delivering one of college football's great understatements.

Illinois is one of 10 teams that landed in the five prestigious BCS bowl games, and the pairing preserves the bowl's preference to match teams from the Big Ten and Pac-10 Conferences.

After losing Big Ten champion Ohio State to the National Championship game Jan. 7 against LSU, the Rose Bowl had first choice of the remaining at-large teams. The pick was Illinois.

"We looked at the teams that were available to us to play against (Pac-10 champ) Southern California, and Illinois presented the tradition of the Big Ten-Pac 10, and we want to stick with that tradition when we can," said Mitch Dorger, CEO of the Rose Bowl.

"We also looked at the quality of teams. We were interested in the way teams ended their seasons. The way Illinois ended on an up-note - beating No. 1 (Ohio State) - that was important to us to have a team coming in here on a positive note. It's a great matchup, a great tradition."

Illinois returns to the Rose Bowl for the first time since January 1984.

And while some will say Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany did a masterful job of lobbying to get Illinois this Rose Bowl berth, Illini linebacker J Leman said the football team did its lobbying on the field.

"I think this team was pretty good at twisting people's arms with our late-season push," Leman said. "Winning our last four games, beating the No. 1 team at their place. That's when people said, 'This team is for real.' "

Leman, a senior who will be playing in his first bowl game, said it was an emotional moment when the team watched the telecast during which the Bowl Championship Series lineup was revealed.

"It's pretty euphoric," Leman said. "A lot of us are in shock. When we saw 'Illinois' come up on the screen, we all erupted.

"Before the year, if you'd have told us this … we were just hoping to be bowl-eligible and go somewhere, so this is really special."

There was considerable suspense surrounding the bowl assignment for an Illini team that improved from 2-10 last season to 9-3 this year. After No. 1 Missouri was defeated by Oklahoma Saturday night, and when No. 2 West Virginia also fell to unranked Pittsburgh, the bowl lineup was tossed into a whirlwind of speculation.

Some felt Illinois might land in the Capital One Bowl Jan. 1 in Orlando against Zook's one-time employer, the University of Florida.

But doors opened Saturday night. Zook said he followed two games simultaneously Saturday night, watching Missouri and West Virginia fall, and those results helped pave Illinois' way into the Rose Bowl.

"I'm so happy for (Director of Athletics Ron) Guenther," Zook said. "He went to school here. He played in the Rose Bowl. It has special meaning.

"I'm so proud of our players, especially the seniors. These guys haven't been to a bowl game, and here they get to go to the grand daddy of them all. It's really a sweet thing.

"And for all of this, you get to play arguably the best team in the country. It's going to be a great challenge, and I'm looking forward to it.

"We always talk about as a football team, if you're a competitor you want to play against the best, and obviously this is one of the best teams in the country. We'll have our hands full, but it's a challenge we look forward to."

Illini quarterback Juice Williams, holding a rose at the team's football complex, said getting to play in the Rose Bowl is a dream come true.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity," Williams said. "Growing up and watching as a kid, you always imagine playing on a big stage and coming out on top in the Rose Bowl. It's up to us to make the most of this opportunity."

And even though it's practically a home game for Southern California, Williams, Leman and Zook all agreed that winning at Ohio State has convinced the Illini they can succeed in the toughest of circumstances.

"We went to Ohio State and played in front of the fifth largest crowd in Ohio Stadium history," Leman said. "It was a sea of red, and we got a win. It will be a lot of the same when we go to Pasadena.

"We'll have a few more of our fans there, and we'll see a different shade or red. I think it will help us knowing that we've been there. We know we can play with the best teams in a hostile environment."

Mark Tupper can be reached at mtupper@herald-review.com or 421-7983.