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Illinois Football Is on the Move Again in the AP Poll: Where Did the Illini Land?

The Illini were knocked down to No. 23 after the Indiana loss and crept up one spot last week. Were they able to make a leap Sunday?
Jason Langendorf|
Oct 4, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Hank Beatty (80) gestures after making a first down against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
Oct 4, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Hank Beatty (80) gestures after making a first down against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

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Illinois Fighting Illini

Analysts, experts and especially AP voters seem preternaturally inclined to underrate and doubt Illinois football (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten). Then again, the Illini have earned the skepticism over the years – and even this season, after entering the AP top 10 for the first time in almost a quarter century and immediately dropping a massive stinkbomb at their own feet in Bloomington.

But the Illini, slowly but surely, are winning the critics back. On Sunday, they leapt five spots in the AP Top 25 college football poll, from No. 22 up to No. 17.

Does Illinois deserve the ranking?

There are two ways to look at it. From the first perspective, the easy answer is "yes." Within the context of the AP poll, the Illini went on the road in the Big Ten to pocket a win (after most recently turning back a dangerous USC team at home) in a week when Penn State cratered, Texas spit the bit and Iowa State, Vanderbilt and Florida State lost. That's how this thing works. As much as anything, the rankings are a battle of attrition.

At the same time, the poll – as we've mentioned more than once in the past – is a subjective aggregation of the opinions of a bunch of biased, ill-informed and sometimes utterly indifferent sportswriters. It's nothing to get too shook up about (especially at this point in the season) one way or another. The Illini, all things considered, are roughly where they belong in the grand scheme of the not-so-grand scheme that is the AP poll.

What is somewhat more significant is the coaches poll (where Illinois also ranks No. 17), and yet of far greater importance than any of the rankings is that the Illini have their cleats tied tight for next week's showdown with No. 1 Ohio State in Champaign (11 a.m. CT, FOX). After the Indiana debacle, next week may be the last opportunity Illinois will have this season to convince the CFP committee of its worthiness for a spot in the postseason tournament.

AP Top 25 college football poll

1. Ohio State, 2. Miami (Fla.), 3. Oregon 4. Ole Miss, 5. Texas A&M, 6. Oklahoma, 7. Indiana, 8. Alabama, 9. Texas Tech 10. Georgia, 11. LSU, 12. Tennessee, 13. Georgia Tech, 14. Missouri, 15. Michigan, 16. Notre Dame, 17. Illinois, 18. BYU, 19. Virginia, 20. Vanderbilt, 21. Arizona State, 22. Iowa State, 23. Memphis, 24. South Florida, 25. Florida State.

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Jason Langendorf
JASON LANGENDORF

Jason Langendorf has covered Illinois basketball, football and more for Illinois on SI since October 2024, and has covered Illini sports – among other subjects – for 30 years. A veteran of ESPN and Sporting News, he has published work in The Guardian, Vice, Chicago Sun-Times and many other outlets. He is currently also the U.S. editor at BoxingScene and a judge for the annual BWAA writing awards. He can be followed and reached on X and Bluesky @JasonLangendorf.

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