CBS guy ranks the 41 bowl games and slots us in at #10 .....
"10. Reliaquest Bowl: (22) Mississippi State vs. Illinois
Monday, Jan. 2, 12 p.m. -- While it's an SEC/Big Ten matchup, it's not a game featuring either conference's perennial powers. Still, both the Bulldogs and Illini had excellent seasons and present an interesting matchup for one another. Mississippi State is 8-4 and the poster child for a team with excellent résumé losses to LSU, Georgia and Alabama. It was a team that lost to the teams you'd expect but beat the ones a good team is supposed to beat and finished the year with a win over rival Ole Miss.
Illinois is one of the biggest surprises of 2022. The Illini are 8-4 and making their first bowl appearance since 2019. They got here behind one of the best defenses in the country, and that's where the matchup gets interesting. Mississippi State will run Mike Leach's Air Raid offense against an Illini defense that led the nation in defensive passing efficiency at 89.8 (Penn State was second at 104.0). Meanwhile, Illinois' offense is built on a physical rushing presence led by Doak Walker finalist Chase Brown but faces a Mississippi State team that ranked 47th in EPA per rush on defense. If styles make fights, this will be a fun fight."
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ranking-2022-college-football-bowl-games-41-1-rose-cure-alamo-sun-among-major-non-playoff-highlights/