Illinois jumps 3 spots to No. 14 in AP poll

Another win, another week moving up in the polls.

After a dominant 26-9 win Saturday at Nebraska, the Illini found themselves at No. 14 in the AP Top 25 on Sunday afternoon.

Illinois now has appeared in four rankings in a row after not being ranked for more than a decade.

The Fighting Illini are now the third-highest ranked Big Ten team, jumping ahead of Penn State after the Nittany Lions’ loss to Ohio State. The Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines still appear in the top four.

This AP Top 25 doesn’t mean all too much with the release of the first College Football Playoff Rankings coming on Tuesday (7 p.m., ESPN). Illinois has never appeared in that ranking, so this will be its first time checking in on that poll.

Illinois’ path to a Big Ten West title is clearing up with only two games left after division foes. The Illini also still have a path to the CFP, but that does involve beating Michigan on the road and Ohio State in the Big Ten title game — and getting some love from those on the CFP panel.

Anywho, it’s crazy we’re having this conversation in late October/early November.

Kickoff for next week’s game vs. MSU is at 2:30 p.m. on BTN.