After a 3-0 start to the 2024 season, Illinois is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since Nov. 2022.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

September 15, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois will have a number by its name in its Big Ten Conference opener on Friday night at Nebraska.

For the first time since Nov. 12, 2022, Illinois has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after the program’s first 3-0 start to a season since 2011. Illinois was ranked in the AP poll from Oct. 15, 2022 after starting that campaign 5-1 until losing back-to-back home games to Michigan State and Purdue on Nov. 5 and 12th to effectively take the Illini out of contention for the Western Division championship in that season.

After narrowly missing the Top 25 status this past week after defeating Kansas at home 23-17, Illinois made it back into the AP poll at No. 24 as the rankings were released Sunday afternoon.

This obviously marks the second time Illinois has been ranked under fourth-year head coach Bret Bielema as he completed his second 3-0 regular-season non-conference slate in Champaign with a 30-9 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday. Bielema is now the first coach in program history with multiple undefeated regular seasons against nonconference opponents since Ron Turner (1999, 2000, 2001).

Bielema's 9-4 record in nonconference games is the best by an Illini head coach through 13 games since Robert Zuppke started 10-3 against non-Big Ten opponents from 1913-18.

“I know the outside world thinks we're 3-0 but we're going to try to go 1-0 every week and focus on the task at hand to get that done,” Bielema said on Saturday after the win over Central Michigan.

The matchup at Nebraska on Friday night on FOX with a 7 p.m. CST kickoff will consist of two ranked teams. Nebraska, which has started out its season defeating UTEP, Colorado and Northern Iowa all at home is ranked No. 22. This game will mark the first time in the history of the two programs where both will be ranked in the contest.

Bielema is 4-1 all-time against Nebraska in his 16-year head coaching career including a 2-1 record at Illinois where he won his first two matchups against Cornhuskers after taking the Illini opening. In 2021, Bielema’s first career game at Illinois was a 30-22 victory over Scott Frost’s Nebraska squad and Bielema’s 17th-ranked team defeated Nebraska 20-9 when the Cornhuskers were being led by interim head coach Mickey Joseph in Lincoln in 2022. Illinois lost 20-7 in Champaign last season in Matt Rhule’s first ever game against the Illini.