It took some time, but Illinois football has finally secured a spot in the nation’s most significant ranking.
The College Football Playoff (CFP) began in 2014 with a format featuring four top teams. The first rankings included powerhouse programs like Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Ohio State—noticeably, Illinois was not among them. For the first eight years of the CFP’s existence, the Illini were absent from the rankings.
Then came 2022, marking a pivotal change. The real turning point, however, dates back to December 2020 when Bret Bielema took over as head coach. In just two seasons, Bielema had Illinois ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2011 and, notably, appearing in the CFP rankings for the first time in program history. That 2022 season saw the Illini reach as high as No. 16 in the country.
In today’s College Football Playoff structure, a No. 16 ranking would place a team on the bubble, a position many doubted Illinois could ever attain. Back in 2022, merely cracking the top 25 was a milestone. Now, Illinois has done it once more.
This Tuesday, the third installment of the 2024 CFP Rankings revealed that Illinois has climbed into the top 25, securing the No. 25 spot.
Illinois football has a chance to climb in the College Football Playoff rankings in the coming weeks
It’s a significant achievement for Illinois to be back in the CFP rankings, especially when considering where the program was just a few years ago. In the decade before Bret Bielema took over, Illinois reached a maximum of six wins only twice—a frustrating period for fans that felt like purgatory.
Now, Illinois has cracked the CFP rankings in two out of the four seasons under Bielema’s leadership, and there’s optimism they can remain there for the rest of the 2024 campaign.
The final two games of the season present favorable matchups. Illinois travels to Rutgers this weekend and then heads to Wrigley Field for the final game against Northwestern.
Both games are winnable, and a nine-win season, which hasn’t happened since 2007, is within reach. Cracking the top 16 in the CFP rankings would be a historic first for the Illini. If they win out and a bit of chaos unfolds in the rankings, who knows how far this wild ride could go?
