The latest AP Top 25 shows respect for the Illinois football program

A ranking in the AP Top 25 doesn’t happen often for the Illinois football team.

I can count on one thing, considering how many seasons the Illini have been ranked since 2002. This is the struggle that most fans have gone through.

However, Bret Bielema has helped bring the program back to a respectable level. He led us to No. 14 in the country just two seasons ago, and we cracked the top 25 again in 2024.

On Sunday, Illinois remained in the AP Top 25 poll for the fifth straight week. This ties in with our brand from the 2022 season. But staying in the rankings wasn’t easy.

Illinois ran a 1-5 Purdue program on par with us. They kept us on the brink of defeat until a great play by the Illinois offense got us through.

I wasn’t sure what the new AP Top 25 poll would look like on Sunday, but not only did Illinois stay in the rankings, we moved up one spot to No. 22 in the country.

I felt like most people didn’t take Illinois seriously over the past few years. Saturday’s game against Purdue should be one of those disappointing losses that knocks us out of the AP Top 25. But that didn’t happen.

Illinois would have lost this game sooner. Bielema-era Illini find a way to win. This courage and resilience is also rewarded.

I expected the Illini to fall back a spot or two, and there was a chance we could be just outside the AP Top 25 on Sunday. The fact that voters moved us up one spot is a bit surprising.

Moving to No. 22 shows me that the college football world is taking Illinois seriously. We are a program that wins games, and the only loss we have is to the newly ranked No. 3 team in the country, Penn State.

However, the coming weekend should be fun. Illinois stays home and welcomes the 24th-ranked Michigan Wolverines. A win on Saturday and the Illini will reach six wins, be bowl eligible and certainly crack the top 20 nationally. A huge weekend is coming up.