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Illinois Football ranked as the No. 51 all-time college program by Associated Press

The AP calculated point totals from over 1,110 weekly polls.

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Where does Fighting Illini football rank when examining past accomplishments of every college program? Well we received somewhat of an answer on Tuesday. The Associated Press calculated data from over 1,100 of their weekly polls to create an All-Time Top 100, and Illinois checked in at No. 51 overall.

The AP's formula counted poll appearances (one point) to mark consistency and No. 1 rankings (one point) to acknowledge elite programs. A bonus was also awarded for AP championships (10 points).

If this seems a bit low for Illinois, that's probably because it is. The Fighting Illini claim five National Titles, but none of them were actually awarded by the Associated Press -- so there's 50 points out the window. Moreover, the formula doesn't grant the Orange and Blue any weight for their 15 conference titles. A more all-encompassing ranking would likely place Illinois somewhere in the Top 40.

Elsewhere, Ohio State (1,112 points) claimed the AP's top overall spot. Fellow Big Ten members Nebraska (901 points) and Michigan (894 points) also cracked the top ten at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. Here's a closer look at where all 14 conference members placed:

Overall Rank Program Points
1 Ohio State Buckeyes 1,112
6 Nebraska Cornhuskers 901
7 Michigan Wolverines 894
12 Penn State Nittany Lions 647
19 Michigan State Spartans 443
24 Wisconsin Badgers 366
25 Iowa Hawkeyes 329
36 Purdue Boilermakers 246
37 Minnesota Golden Gophers 241
40 Maryland Terrapins 230
50 Northwestern Wildcats 183
51 Illinois Fighting Illini 181
72 Indiana Hoosiers 55
86 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 38