The Big Ten Conference had the top two teams in the preseason rankings for the first time in 65 years. Both No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Oregon are on Illini’s 2026 schedule.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 17, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — Illinois will begin the 2026 season just outside the Top 25 Associated Press poll.

Following a 9-4 season in 2025 and program-record 19 wins over the last two seasons, the Illini received the eighth-most voting points of any team not ranked in the
preseason Associated Press poll, which was released Monday morning.

Ohio State, which hosts Illinois on Sept. 26 for the Big Ten Conference opener for both programs, leads the AP poll as the Buckeyes were picked first by 40 of the voting media members. Oregon, which will arrive in Champaign on Oct. 24, was picked for the second spot after the Ducks received 14 first-place votes. This gave the Big Ten Conference the top two teams in the preseason rankings for the first time in 65 years and just the second time ever. Ohio State will go into a season No. 1 for the ninth time, and first since 2015. The Buckeyes are now tied with Alabama for second-most preseason No. 1 rankings behind Oklahoma’s 10. Oregon has its highest preseason ranking in program history after having opened No. 3 four times. The last time the Big Ten had the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the preseason was 1961, when Iowa and Ohio State topped the poll. The Hawkeyes lost four of their last five games after a 4-0 start and finished that season unranked. The Buckeyes went 8-0-1 and ended the season No. 2 behind unbeaten Alabama. This is the first year a conference has held down the top two spots in the preseason poll since Oklahoma and Nebraska of the Big Eight were 1-2 in 1987.

The third and fourth spots in the poll were Georgia, the defending Southeastern Conference champion, and Notre Dame. Texas, last year’s preseason No. 1, edged out defending national champion Indiana for the fifth position without getting a single first-place vote despite the the Hoosiers claimed eight — the third-most among all teams. The poll had six schools receiving multiple first-place votes, which was the first time for that occurrence since 2008.

Illinois, which finished 9-4 last season, held a preseason No. 12 ranking before the start of the 2025 campaign. Each voting member submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th.

The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with nine teams in the preseason Top 25, marking the third straight year it has had at least that many. Five of the top 10 teams are from the SEC for the first time since 2013.

2026 Associated Press Preseason Top 25 Rankings

1. Ohio State (40 of 69 first-place votes)
2. Oregon (14)
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame (6)
5. Texas
6. Indiana (8)
7. Miami (1)
8. Texas A&M
9. Mississippi
10. Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech
13. Alabama
14. Brigham Young
15. Southern California
16. Michigan
17. Washington
18. Penn State
19. Southern Methodist
20. Tennessee
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Houston
24. Louisville
25. Missouri

Others receiving votes (ranking points): Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1