Latest big win has Illinois football jetting up AP Top 25

Illinois football continued to impress this past week, as another victory over a top 25 program took place on Friday.

The Illini turned some heads a couple of weeks ago when we took out a ranked Kansas program. This helped get the Orange and Blue on the map.

A win over Central Michigan followed, and this victory got Illinois over the hump and back into the AP Top 25 for the first time since the 2022 campaign.

This win over the Chippewas also helped set up a game on Friday that featured a ranked Illini program against the No. 22 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. Despite Nebraska selling out for the 400th straight game, Illinois went into Lincoln and secured the win.

Illinois beating their second ranked opponent in the past three weeks has people talking about just how good we are this season. That victory also has us moving in the AP Top 25.

On Sunday, the newest AP Top 25 poll was released, and Illinois has moved up five spots, which places us as the No. 19 team in the country.

Illinois football has plenty of opportunity for upward movement in the AP Top 25 in the coming weeks

It is exciting for Illinois to be ranked that high in the AP Top 25. Just two seasons ago, we reached as high as No. 14 in the nation, so there is a goal to crack that mark. We also reached No. 16 in the College Football Playoff rankings as well.

Illinois has played some great football in the first four weeks of the 2024 season. If we continue this great play, there are some big opportunities for aggressive upward movement.

No. 9 Penn State awaits this upcoming weekend. They are undefeated and would be a great win for the Illini. A win over the Nittany Lions would surely get us into the top 15 nationally and maybe even close to the top 10.

Following the Penn State game, Illinois has Purdue and No. 12 Michigan at home. We then take on No. 8 Oregon on the road. If we can knock off Purdue and then at least one of the ranked programs, then we can put ourselves in a great spot to reach the 2024 College Football Playoff. At this point, we kind of control our own destiny.