AP Top 25 College Football Poll: The Experts Are Ready to Believe in Illinois

In the preseason Associated Press Top 25 college football poll, the Illini were validated by a panel of writers across the country with a No. 12 ranking

Dec 31, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Malik Elzy (8) and Illinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Ashton Hollins (2) lead the team out of the tunnel before the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images | Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

If you're a college football fan, the annual release of the preseason AP Top 25 poll hits like some mixture of an album drop, a blind date and Christmas morning. The anticipation is off the charts and the potential for disappointment is palpable, but somehow you are there for it – every year.

Around Champaign, hopes were high when the first AP poll of the 2025 college football season landed on Monday that Illinois would be recognized for all the program's recent strides, including last year's 10-win season and Citrus Bowl win – not to mention the CFB-high 16 starters it returns from that group this fall. Well, pop in the earbuds, tear into your gift and pucker up, Illini fans, because the day has arrived.

AP Poll No. 12 — the work doesn’t stop. pic.twitter.com/eHyLF4zimV

— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) August 11, 2025

Texas is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time, just ahead of No. 2 Penn State.

See where other top teams rank. https://t.co/qXJ5AkXKho

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 11, 2025

The Illini earned a No. 12 ranking in the AP's initial poll – their first time opening the season there since 2008 (at No. 20) and their first time debuting in the top 15 since 1990, when Illinois started out ranked No. 11. This year's preseason ranking is the ninth-highest for the program since the AP preseason poll began in 1950.

The next step? Living up to it. Big Ten rivals Penn State, Ohio State and Oregon – all ranked in the top 10 – will be tough to chas down. But the Illini have already outdone our Illinois on SI preseason rankings projection, and they have a schedule that bodes well – particularly if they're able to swat away Duke in Week 2 to build momentum heading into the Big Ten season – for matching our projection of another 10-win season. With a touch more magic, perhaps they'll be capable of even more.

Mark it, schedule it, book it.

The 2025 Illini Football schedule is here. #Illini // #HTTO // #famILLy pic.twitter.com/rbVbbohymu

— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) December 11, 2024

The only ranking that truly matters is the one at the end of the season, of course, but we'll be keeping track of Illinois' number – and progress – along the the way throughout the fall. Who knows? Maybe there'll be another big gift to unwrap roughly five months from now.

Preseason AP Top 25 College Football Poll

1. Texas, 2. Penn State, 3. Ohio State, 4. Clemson, 5. Georgia, 6. Notre Dame, 7. Oregon, 8. Alabama, 9. LSU, 10. Miami, 11. Arizona State, 12. Illinois, 13. South Carolina, 14. Michigan, 15. Florida, 16. SMU, 17. Kansas State, 18. Oklahoma, 19. Texas A&M, 20. Indiana, 21. Ole Miss, 22. Iowa State, 23. Texas Tech, 24. Tennessee, 25. Boise State.

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