Polls Thread
Dan
Admin
Illinois #27 in the Coaches Poll (up from #29 in preseason coaches poll)
sportsdata.usatoday.com
NCAA College Football Coaches Poll | USA Today Sports
The US LBM Football Coaches Poll, published by USA TODAY Sports, is conducted weekly throughout the NCAA college football season. See the latest Top 25 rankings from the game’s best head coaches.
Dan
Admin
Illinois receives 6 votes in AP Poll (down from 9 votes in the preseason AP Poll)
apnews.com
AP Top 25 Poll
The official page for the AP Top 25 college football poll, a tradition since 1936. View the latest ranking updates each week, and vote in our fan poll.
apnews.com
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Not surprised at all there with the sample size of one played football game.
UAB had the ball for over 68% of the game and had over 400 yards of offense. If you looked at the stat sheet alone, it would be surprising to learn that the Illini won by 3 TD's. The pick 6 and the hail mary at the end of first half mask how close the game felt.
Good news is that the Illini have plenty of opportunities to improve, and it starts with much better tackling.
It is interesting to see the polls punish Michigan as if it were still really a loss.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Michigan
Illinois hasn't done anything yet to show it deserves a top 25 ranking.
You can make this post for almost every team that’s in the top 25.
It’s week 1. Nobody’s done anything yet.
Michigan literally time travelled, pretty impressive
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
We don't have a top 25 ranking, so I am not sure what your point is...? If we beat Duke, we WILL have done something to show we deserve a top 25 ranking, given our success in recent years and how few teams will have a better win under their belts by week two.
I know we're not rated in the top 25. My point is many people on here including myself thought we should have been ranked in the top 25 to start the season but we aren't looking like it so far.We don't have a top 25 ranking, so I am not sure what your point is...? If we beat Duke, we WILL have done something to show we deserve a top 25 ranking, given our success in recent years and how few teams will have a better win under their belts by week two.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Fair enough, and I wouldn't disagree! I think everyone would be in 100% agreement that we'll see what this team is made of on Saturday. For those interested in a trip down memory lane, here are two examples I can think of where we learned a ton about our Illini in that classic Week Two / Three non-conference matchup vs. a Power Conference team where we weren't quite sure what we had until that game.
In 2024, people were somewhat optimistic, but we really had no idea how good we would be after beating Eastern Illinois in Week One. Then #19 Kansas came to town for our first sellout in practically a decade, and we looked like we belonged at the table with the big boys. Obviously KU had a disappointing season, but it was still a statement win, and we would obviously go on to win 10 games. So that game was undoubtably a huge momentum booster for the season.
Contrast that with 2012. While no one was ELATED with the Beckman hire, I think a lot of us were so sick of the mental goofs by extremely talented teams of the Zook Era that we were at least hopeful that we would have a more disciplined, tougher culture. Also, we DID start out 6-0 the previous year, so even with the collapse that ended Zook's tenure, I do remember at least some cautious optimism. We beat Western Michigan in Week One, and then we went to Tempe in Week Two for a primetime ESPN game. Of course, we didn't even look like we belonged on the same field as ASU, and a loss two weeks later at home to Charleston Southern would make it clear that we were terrible (we'd finish 2-10).
Anyway, I think beating Duke is absolutely huge for this team's trajectory. I know we replaced a lot of big pieces, but we have enough there that we need to protect our home field. If we can get this win, we are likely 3-0 going into our trip to Columbus, and then you just throw the kitchen sink at them and see what happens. Even assuming a loss, beating Purdue and getting to 4-1 for the third time in the last four seasons (!!) will go a long way toward securing the fans' trust that the rebuild of Illini Football has permanently taken hold ... I think a hilariously large number of Illini fans are STILL emotionally bracing for that classic 2002- or 2008-like slide back into the cellar.