Week 8 Polls - Illinois unranked in AP Poll
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Hello Darkness, my old friend.
I'd say that getting beaten by a combined 71 points is the message. It's been a rough two teams to play for sure, but losing by 53 on the road and 18 at home is hard to argue.
That said, plenty of opportunities ahead. Going to Washington is going to be a VERY difficult game. We'll probably be 7 points dogs.
Any year that ends with a bowl game is a successful for Illinois. Anything greater than that is outstanding looking at the school’s last 30 years.
Total disrespect by the voters however we play better with lower expectations…BB will use this in the bye week.
Nah. If we beat Washington, the schedule lines up nicely for a momentum building run. If we’re a 2 loss team, we’ll be top 15. 3 loss team, top 20. I don’t think the CFP is realistic because of how lopsided our losses were. It is hard to make the case that we are as good or better but just had a day or two where the ball bounced the other way or we got robbed by a bad penalty. Or that it was just an injury. The way we lost to IU particularly is not the way a national contender loses, even to another contender.
The goal should be to run the table, and cap off another good year with a bowl win against another good team that was also on the outside looking in. We’re getting good recruits, just keep building the program. And when IU is on the schedule, prepare to take vengeance.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
I understand that many are disappointed to fall in the rankings (completely out of AP top 25), but IMO, it is completely justified. Yes the Illini are 5-2 with losses to top 3 teams, but we lost those two games by an average of 35 points. The Illini did put on a better showing yesterday than in Bloomingon, but the game was still out of reach in the 4th quarter.
If anything, the Illini are propped up by the high preseason ratings. If the Illini started the season unranked with the current results, the Illini would be ranked much lower.
Now with that said, the Illini have a lot to play for in the coming month. The CFP is likely out of reach (barring winning out and many outcomes falling in our favor), but another 9 win regular season should be the goal. Achieve that, and the Illini are likely top 20 going into bowl season. At the moment, this Illini team is fringe top 25, and that is exactly where they are ranked.
Rest up this week and let the other teams beat up on each other. I think the Illini will be top 25 in both polls going into Washington game. That game will be a very big opportunity (hardest game left on schedule).
If anything, the Illini are propped up by the high preseason ratings. If the Illini started the season unranked with the current results, the Illini would be ranked much lower.
Now with that said, the Illini have a lot to play for in the coming month. The CFP is likely out of reach (barring winning out and many outcomes falling in our favor), but another 9 win regular season should be the goal. Achieve that, and the Illini are likely top 20 going into bowl season. At the moment, this Illini team is fringe top 25, and that is exactly where they are ranked.
Rest up this week and let the other teams beat up on each other. I think the Illini will be top 25 in both polls going into Washington game. That game will be a very big opportunity (hardest game left on schedule).
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
I agree with posters that having this team unranked is a farce. We’ve played the 4th toughest schedule in the nation up to this point and are 5-2 with our only losses coming to the #1 and #3 teams in the country.
We have a ranked win at home, along with two double digit road wins against P4 opponents, one of which is a solid bowl team.
We have a ranked win at home, along with two double digit road wins against P4 opponents, one of which is a solid bowl team.
alaaji
- Morocco
I know it makes everybody feel better, but Indiana was ranked #19 when we lost to them and we were ranked #12. Is the current rank only considered or the rank when the loss occurred? I have seen teams lose to ranked teams and those teams sometimes drop out of the top 25. Would they then say they lost to an unranked team?
The rank at the time of game is usually how it's stated.
So, #19 Indiana beat #12 Illinois. If that makes sense. But it's still important to note how the teams are currently too.
It’s about margin of the losses. If those were close losses IL would be ranked much higher.
You simply can’t lose 63-10 to anyone and expect to be ranked in the top 25
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
It is not just the quality of win that matters. The quality of loss also matters. ND lost their two games by a total of 4 points to #2 and #4 ranked teams (compared to our 71 points to #1 and #3 teams). There is little doubt in my mind that the Illini would be ranked in the top 15 if the Illini lost their two games by a combined 4 points. Notre Dame destroyed their other 4 opponents.
I also will root for USC over ND, but some of these talking points about the "flawed rankings" are strange. There are some justifiable gripes, but complaining about how high ND is currently ranked is not one of them.
You mean the Notre Dame team that lost to 2 top 4 teams by a combined 4 points? Where as our 2 losses were a combined 71 points? I don't think your argument is very logical.
As I said earlier, they're flawed because they remove the simplest and most important stat: wins & losses. But, it's been that was for decades. Not gonna change now.
Guys, take a deep breath.
There are exactly 2 teams in the AP poll with two losses. One of those teams has won 4 in a row and the other just beat a top 10 team in convincing fashion. Of course they're going to be ranked higher than the team that just lost.
There are exactly 2 teams in the AP poll with two losses. One of those teams has won 4 in a row and the other just beat a top 10 team in convincing fashion. Of course they're going to be ranked higher than the team that just lost.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
By definition, they are polls of voters. There is nothing formulaic about either the coaches or AP polls. People mention inherent biases in these polls, and this deserves some merit, but some of these biases are reduced by the volume of voters.
The largest issue with these polls is that they start from a preseason starting point based on zero data points for the current season. These preseason votes are based upon hype (raw talent, returning players, coaching, etc.). It then takes many iterations of the poll to remove this particular form of bias.
The reality is that the coaches and AP poll are quite meaningless early in the season and really do not stabilize until late October. The true fix is not having polls until late in the season (like the initial CFP rankings), but then that would remove excitement surrounding matchups and people complaining about not having rankings.
To me it is more important for where you are ranked in November and not in September or October. By the end of the season, these polls will be very highly correlated to wins-losses and will be quite stable.
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Illini fan Atlanta
- Lockport, Illinois via Atlanta
Seriously?
If Illinois wins out and finishes 10-2, they are the FIRST team the selection committee should eliminate. The Indiana loss is overwhelming.
If Illinois wins out and finishes 10-2, they are the FIRST team the selection committee should eliminate. The Indiana loss is overwhelming.
Well of course you can, and we were
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
You can survive one overwhelming loss, but two is much harder (and we actually did in the Coaches poll). Really a testament to how highly the voters tend to view the Illini (despite what many on this thread are claiming).
Of course
The post I responded to claimed you couldn’t have 1, which is false as we proved by being ranked the last 3 weeks in a row subsequent to the Indiana game
You simply cannot lose to a 3-3 team and expect to be ranked #6 or be 4-2 with a loss to a 2-4 team and be ranked #21
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If our only losses are to Indiana and Ohio State we should be in. Winning out is on the team, the rest is what it is.
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