Illinois Football: Illini continue to climb in latest AP Top 25 poll

Illinois football continues to ascend in the latest AP Top 25 rankings.

Last week was monumental for the Illini. For the first time since 2011, we found ourselves ranked inside the AP Top 25. That No. 24 ranking was special to a lot of fans, especially the ones who have lived through this team making the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl in the last 21 years.

But Illinois wasn’t satisfied with just being ranked inside the top 25. We wanted more. Minnesota came to town and the Illini sent them home with a loss. This enabled us to not only stay in the AP Top 25, but we have now moved up in the rankings.

On Sunday, the AP Top 25 was officially released, and Illinois moved up six spots to No. 18. This is a huge move for the Orange and Blue. We are now a top 20 program in the country. Let that soak in for a moment.

Could the Illinois football team take a peek at the top 10 in the coming weeks?

It is crazy to think that the Illini are ranked as the No. 18 team in the nation. Just a few years ago, this seemed unimaginable. But we continue to win games, and that trend will hopefully not stop any time soon.

At No. 18, we are only eight spots out from being a top 10 team in the country. It could be possible to rise to that mark in the coming weeks.

On October 29, Illinois has Nebraska on the road. While the Cornhuskers are struggling this season, they have decent talent on the field, and it is hard to go to Lincoln and come away with a win. But this is a winnable game for the Illini.

The next opponent is on November 5 against Michigan State. The Spartans come to Champaign for this matchup. Michigan State has struggled this season. Illinois should be able to beat the Spartans.

With those two games being wins, I think Illinois has a chance to rise eight more spots into the top 10. Teams are losing at a high clip this season, so we would just need a shake-up in the rankings for us to continue climbing.

I love mapping out scenarios like this. It used to be a road map to figure out how to become bowl-eligible. Now it is a road map to figure out how to crack the top 10. Insane.