Illinois aims for College Football Playoff amid ranking concerns
Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Jun 28, 2026, 2:07 AM
Last updated Jun 28, 2026
The Illinois Fighting Illini football team is in contention for a College Football Playoff spot after finishing the 2025 season with a Music City Bowl victory over Tennessee. Despite posting a 9-4 record, Illinois was not ranked in the final AP Top 25 poll, raising concerns about perceived biases in rankings. In previous seasons, Illinois has also been rated lower than warranted in the AP poll, creating challenges for their postseason aspirations. The Illini's strength of record ranking further underscores their potential against the backdrop of subjective committee decisions.
- •Illinois finished the 2025 season with a 9-4 record and a bowl win.
- •The team was unranked in the final AP Top 25 despite their performance.
- •Illinois' strength of record ranked 18th nationally, higher than ranked teams.
- •Previous seasons also saw Illinois ranked lower than their record indicated.
- •The current raises concerns about subjective committee rankings.
- 2:07 AMYahoo Sports — Illinois Football is nearly ready for the next step. Is everyone else?
"The Illini are being objectively underrated compared to their on-field performance.
Sources
External linksOriginal reporting and copyright belong to the linked sources. SportsNewsReport.com aggregates and links — it does not republish full articles.
Related Stories
Last 14 days
NCAAF•Oct 28, 2026, 2:33 AMLincoln Riley affirms his commitment to USC with his 5th season teetering on failure
NCAAF•Oct 28, 2026, 2:33 AMRiley says USC 'right place for me' and 'I'm the right person to be here'
NCAAF•Oct 28, 2026, 2:20 AMLincoln Riley has reached the end of his USC leash. Now comes the reckoning
NCAAF•Oct 28, 2026, 1:36 AMBrian Kelly Clears Stance on Firing Spree & Calls 3 HC Role Openings "Very Attractive"
NCAAF•Oct 28, 2026, 1:30 AMPaul Finebaum opens up about receiving death threats: ‘That did concern me’
NCAAF•Oct 28, 2026, 1:28 AMBob Chesney is building something in UCLA... and he isn't going anywhere