AP Top 25 Poll

#21 Illinois Fighting Illini

2024

Overall Record

9-3

Last Game

vs Northwestern W 38-28

Conference Record

6-3

Next Game

@South Carolina 12/31/2024

No. 14 South Carolina and No. 21 Illinois meet in the Citrus Bowl

The Citrus Bowl will feature the No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks and the No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini.

Illinois assistant Dana Dimel, a head coach at Wyoming, Houston and UTEP, dies at the age of 62

No. 22 Illinois reaches 9 wins for first time in 17 years with 38-28 victory over Northwestern

No. 22 Illinois tries to reach 9 wins for 1st time since 2007 when it meets Northwestern at Wrigley

With big goals in reach, No. 22 Illinois looks to take out Northwestern at Wrigley Field

More News

No. 24 Illinois stuns Rutgers on Bryant’s 40-yard TD reception with 4 seconds left

Luke Altmyer found Pat Bryant for a catch-and-run, 40-yard touchdown pass with 4 seconds left, sending No. 24 Illinois to a wild 38-31 victory over Rutgers.

Rutgers and No. 24 Illinois face each other with hopes of landing more prestigious bowl bids

Rutgers will try to post its first three-game winning streak in conference play since joining the Big Ten in 2014 when it plays host to No. 24 Illinois on Saturday.

No. 24 Illinois and Rutgers are climbing the Big Ten ladder heading into Saturday’s showdown

No. 24 Illinois will try to take another step toward its first nine-win season since 2007 when it travels to New Jersey to face Rutgers on Saturday at SHI Stadium.

Josh McCray runs for three TDs to lead Illinois to a 38-16 win over slumping Michigan State

Josh McCray ran for three touchdowns and Luke Altmyer threw two TD passes, leading Illinois to a 38-16 victory Saturday over Michigan State.

Illinois and Michigan State meet in Champaign, both looking to end 2-game skids

Illinois hosts Michigan State on Saturday. The Illini lost to No. 1 Oregon and Minnesota in its last two games, knocking them out of the AP Top 25 poll after seven straight weeks.

Minnesota rallies to defeat No. 24 Illinois 25-17 for the Golden Gophers’ 4th straight win

Max Brosmer threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Geers and Dragan Kesich kicked his fourth field goal of the game in the final five minutes, rallying Minnesota to a 25-17 victory over No. 24 Illinois.

After a perfect October, Minnesota visits No. 24 Illinois looking for fourth straight win

After losing 38-9 last week to No. 1 Oregon, No. 24 Illinois risks dropping out of the AP Top 25 with a home loss Saturday to Minnesota.

No. 24 Illinois looks to rebound against red-hot Minnesota

Illinois returned home battered and bruised after a 38-9 beating by No. 1 Oregon last week. In addition to being blown out, the Illini lost top receiver Pat Bryant to a concussion.

Gabriel has 3 TD passes and leads No. 1 Oregon to a 38-9 rout of No. 20 Illinois

Dillon Gabriel threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and top-ranked Oregon routed No. 20 Illinois 38-9 to remain undefeated this season.

No. 20 Illinois uses No. 1 Oregon’s ranking as motivation heading into Saturday’s meeting

Oregon doesn’t care about its No. 1 ranking, but Illinois sure does. The No. 20 Fighting Illini visit the Ducks on Saturday at Autzen Stadium with a chance to knock off the top-ranked team in the country.

Top-ranked Oregon and Heisman hopeful QB Dillon Gabriel host No. 20 Illinois

Oregon is ranked No. 1 in the current AP Top 25, the first time it has held the top spot in the rankings since 2012.

No. 20 Illinois heads to No. 1 Oregon seeking to beat a top-ranked team for first time since 2007

No. 20 Illinois just beat defending national champion Michigan. Now the Illini get a chance to test themselves against the top-ranked team in the nation.

No. 22 Illinois beats No. 24 Michigan 21-7 for its first win over the Wolverines since 2009

Luke Altmyer threw for a touchdown and ran for another, leading No. 22 Illinois to a 21-7 victory over No. 24 Michigan.

No. 24 Michigan’s porous pass defense will be tested by No. 22 Illinois and QB Luke Altmyer

Illinois hosts Michigan 100 years and one day after Red Grange scored four of his six TDs in the first 12 minutes of the Memorial Stadium dedication game against Michigan.

No. 22 Illinois eyes 1st ranked-vs-ranked win at home since 1991 against No. 24 Michigan

Michigan and Illinois will try to get back on track Saturday at Memorial Stadium. No. 24 Michigan had a school-record 27-game Big Ten winning streak snapped Oct. 5 at Washington.

Big Ten slate features Nebraska-Indiana showdown plus rare Top 25 matchup at Illinois

Indiana hasn’t trailed all season heading into the 16th-ranked Hoosiers’ Saturday home game with Nebraska.

No. 23 Illinois outlasts Purdue 50-49 in overtime on sack on 2-point conversion

Luke Altmyer threw a 25-yard touchdown pass in overtime to Pat Bryant, and Dylan Rosiek sacked Purdue’s Ryan Browne on a 2-point conversion attempt to give No. 23 Illinois a 50-49 victory Saturday.

No. 23 Illinois hopes to avoid letdown against struggling Purdue

With important Big Ten games coming up against No. 24 Michigan and No. 3 Oregon and five ranked opponents on its schedule over a seven-game stretch, No. 23 Illinois can’t afford a letdown against a struggling Purdue team that has lost four in a row and was crushed 52-6 last Saturday by Wisconsin.

Back at home, No. 23 Illinois faces nemesis Purdue and former defensive coordinator

Illinois hasn’t played a home game in a month. Road games at then No. 22-Nebraska and then-No. 9 Penn State and a bye week left Memorial Stadium silent since Sept. 14.

No. 7 Nittany Lions getting overpowering efforts from RBs Allen, Singleton

Penn State’s hard-charging duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 196 rushing yards and became just the second set of Nittany Lion teammates to eclipse 2,000 career rushing yards in Penn State’s 21-7 win over Illinois on Saturday.

Singleton, Allen score TDs as No. 9 Penn State beats No. 19 Illinois 21-7

Nick Singleton ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, Kaytron Allen added 94 yards and a score and No. 9 Penn State pulled away in the second half to beat No. 19 Illinois 21-7 on Saturday night.

No. 9 Nittany Lions looking to keep momentum going against No. 19 Illinois

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar and the rest of the No. 9 Nittany Lions need to get by a rising Illinois squad looking to keep an already promising season of its own going.

No. 9 Penn State looks for another big offensive performance at home against No. 19 Illinois

Fresh off a gritty overtime comeback win at Nebraska last week, the Fighting Illini are 4-0 for the first time since 2011.

Illinois and Indiana are both 4-0 and sitting atop the Big Ten standings

Don’t look now but Illinois and Indiana, two perennial also-rans in the mighty Big Ten, are both 4-0 and are sitting at the top of the conference table.

Luke Altmyer throws 4 TD passes, leads No. 24 Illinois to 31-24 OT win over No. 22 Nebraska

Luke Altmyer threw for four touchdowns, including a short toss to Pat Bryant in overtime, to give No. 24 Illinois a 31-24 win over No. 22 Nebraska.

No. 22 Nebraska hosts No. 24 Illinois in a Big Ten opener matching unbeaten teams

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule says it’s time for the games to begin for real. That’s the attitude the coach of the No. 22 Nebraska Cornhuskers takes into his team’s Big Ten opener against No. 24 Illinois Friday night in Lincoln.

No. 22 Nebraska hosts its first Top 25 matchup since 2013 when No. 24 Illinois visits

No. 22 Nebraska hosts No. 24 Illinois on Friday night in the first Top 25 matchup in Lincoln since 2013. Both teams enter the game 3-0.

Pat Bryant catches 2 TDs, Ethan Moczulski kicks a school-record field goal as Illinois beats CMU

Luke Altmyer threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns, both to Pat Bryant, to lead Illinois to a 30-9 win over Central Michigan. Bryant had seven catches for 102 yards.

Illinois hosts Central Michigan looking for first 3-0 start since 2011

Illinois is off to a 2-0 start this season going into Saturday’s home game against Central Michigan. The Illini have not won three in a row to open a season since 2011.

UNLV visits Kansas in bowl game rematch won by Jayhawks last season

UNLV heads to Kansas on Friday night for a rematch of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl that the Jayhawks won last December.