Illinois moves up to No. 18 in AP poll

Behind another big game from Chase Brown and Tommy DeVito, Illinois is sticking around in the AP Top 25... and moving up.

The Illini checked in at No. 18 in Sunday’s latest poll. It’s the second week in a row that Illinois showed up with a number, after breaking an 11-year drought last week.

Illinois (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) dominated Minnesota on Saturday at Memorial Stadium en route to a 26-14 win. The Illini are now in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten West race, with games against Purdue and Nebraska coming up.

Bret Bielema’s team is joined by top-25 stalwarts once again — Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. However, the Nittany Lions dropped after a 41-17 loss in Ann Arbor on Saturday.

Illinois is off this week before heading to Lincoln to face Nebraska on Oct. 29. Kickoff for that game has not yet been announced.