The Illinois Fighting Illini made a significant statement in their Saturday victory over Minnesota in Champaign, and Associated Press voters rewarded them with their highest ranking in more than a decade.
The Illini, who became bowl eligible thanks to a 26-14 win over the Golden Gophers Saturday, are now No. 18 in the AP rankings, which were released Sunday morning.
The ranking is the school’s highest since Week 7 of the 2011 season, when Illinois was slotted in at No. 16 after a 6-0 start to the regular season.
The Illini went on to lose their next game after ascending to that ranking, and in fact lost their last six games of the regular season to finish at 6-6. They would later beat UCLA in the Fight Hunger Bowl.
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Illinois still has a long way to go if they hope to crack the top-10 in the rankings, a feat they haven't accomplished since 2001 when they made it all the way to No. 7 after the final week of the season. They would go on to lose the Sugar Bowl to LSU for just their second loss of the season.
The school's highest-ever ranking in the AP poll has been No. 2, a feat they last accomplished in 1964.
Illinois’ move up the rankings has not only been powered by Chase Brown, the nation’s leading rusher at 1,059 yards through seven games, but also by their defense. The Illini are allowing just 8.9 points and 221 yards per game, both of which are tops in the nation.
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Minnesota came into Saturday’s game averaging nearly 500 yards of offense per contest, but Illinois held them to just 180 yards, including 38 through the air.
In fact, Illinois hadn’t allowed a touchdown at home all season before Minnesota was able to get on the board twice on Saturday.
The Illini, who control their own destiny in the Big Ten West, will have a week off before heading to Lincoln to face Nebraska on Oct. 29. Home matchups against Michigan State and Purdue will follow before what looms as a huge showdown against unbeaten Michigan in Ann Arbor on Nov. 19.
Michigan, after a rout of Penn State on Saturday, is now at No. 4 in the AP rankings. Georgia remained in the top spot after a shutout win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, and idle Ohio State stayed at No. 2. Tennessee, who beat Alabama for the first time in 16 years on Saturday in Knoxville, is now at No. 3, and Clemson rounds out the top-five at No. 5.
Penn State dropped to No. 16, and is the only other Big Ten school still in the rankings.
