Illinois football is not in the first AP Top 25 poll of the season, and we didn’t even get a single vote to be on the coveted ranking.
Does this come as a surprise? Obviously, no it does not. The Illini haven’t been sniffing the top 25 in quite some time, and we are coming off a 5-7 campaign. At this point, just a bowl game is the goal and we can build from there.
But is there a chance Illinois could end up cracking the AP Top 25 in 2022? It is going to be awfully difficult given recent history and the record we need to achieve to get there.
BREAKING: Who’s No. 1? Alabama tops the preseason AP Top 25 for the 9th time but there are familiar foes lurking in the top five.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) August 15, 2022
See the whole poll presented by @RegionsBank: https://t.co/7dTTUiSC1j pic.twitter.com/XOimkiHXuj
Illinois football might have a chance to sniff the AP Top 25 early in the 2022 season.
Like I said earlier, Illinois making the AP Top 25 is going to be difficult. First off, I want to mention the history of the Illini in the top 25. Let’s just say, it isn’t pretty.
Do you want to know the last time Illinois received a vote to be in the AP Top 25? You have to go back to week 13 of the 2019 campaign. Illinois was 6-4 entering a game against No. 17 Iowa. We fell by nine points in a close contest, but that was the last time we would see any type of love for the top 25.
Here is the ugliest stat, though. You have to go back 11 seasons to find the last time the Illinois football team cracked the top 25. We climbed as high as No. 16 that year. It was an exciting start to the 2011 campaign. Illinois was 6-0 and looking great. But we dropped the final six games and Ron Zook ended up getting fired. Thanks, Mike Thomas.
Illinois AD Mike Thomas has announced that Ron Zook will not be retained after 7 seasons as #Illini football coach. http://t.co/Xv74m5nO
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) November 27, 2011
So, history is definitely not on the side of the Illinois football program when it comes to the AP Top 25. I do think the 2022 rendition of the Orange and Blue is going to be better than most people think, though. But it will still be tough to see the top 25.
Last year, the No. 25 team in the country, San Diego State, finished at 12-2. The lowest ranked power-five team was No. 23 Iowa, who finished with a record of 10-4. So, you see why it is going to be tough for Illinois to finish in the top 25. We will have to win 8-9 regular season games, and we haven’t done that since 2007.
I do believe there is a chance we might get a few votes to be in the AP Top 25 at some point in 2022. The early part of the Illinois schedule isn’t the toughest. If we can play a B+ or better game, stick with the running game, and the defense is as good as last season, then we can start the season off on the right foot.
A 4-0 start that features wins over Wyoming, Indiana, Virginia, and Chattanooga might get us a vote or two to be in the AP Top 25. That is our main hope. I think there is a legit shot this Illini team can get to seven wins this season as well. That also might get us a vote or two.
Do we crack the AP Top 25 this season? Probably not, but I think this Illinois football program can get some votes at some point. We are on the rise. For me, the success of the Illini is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when.