A week after Kansas handed Illinois the ignominious title of Power Five conference team with the longest streak of being unranked, the Illini are now off the schneid in their second year under coach Bret Bielema.
Illinois improved to 5-1 by beating Iowa 9-6 on Saturday night in Champaign, and the Illini landed in The Associated Press college football poll at No. 24 on Sunday for the first time since Oct. 16, 2011 — a streak of 178 polls.
Next up on the list of longest ranking droughts for Power Five schools are Rutgers (2012), Oregon State (preseason 2013) and Vanderbilt (final 2013).
It has been a season of drought endings for the Illini, whose win over the Hawkeyes on backup kicker Fabrizio Pinton’s 36-yard field goal with 2:46 remaining was their first since 2008. They have beaten Wisconsin and Iowa in the same season for the first time since 1989.
At 2-1 in the conference, Illinois is tied for the Big Ten West lead with Purdue and Nebraska. Bielema’s team could grab control in the division if it defeats Minnesota (4-1, 1-1) on Saturday in Champaign (11 a.m., BTN).
In another notable season debut in the rankings, James Madison is in the AP Top 25 for the first time in program history. The Dukes are playing their first season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference in Division I football’s highest level.
Georgia took back the No. 1 spot from Alabama after being bumped out last week by the Crimson Tide, who slid to No. 3.
The Bulldogs received 32 first-place votes and 1,535 points to easily reclaim No. 1. They were just two points behind Alabama at No. 2 last week.
Georgia thumped Auburn 42-10 on Saturday. The Tide, whose Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young was sidelined by injury, escaped an upset bid at home by Texas A&M.
Ohio State moved up a spot to No. 2, receiving 20 first-place votes and 1,507 points.
No. 3 is a season low for Alabama, which was the preseason No. 1 but fell to No. 2 after Week 2. The Tide received 11 first-place votes.
Clemson overtook Michigan and moved up to No. 4, and the Wolverines fell one spot to No. 5.
Undefeated Tennessee moved up to No. 6, the best ranking for the Volunteers since they were No. 5 early in the 2005 season. Tennessee stumbled to a 5-6, unranked finish that year.
USC fell one spot to No. 7, and Oklahoma State, Mississippi and Penn State held their places to round out the top 10.
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Poll points
The shuffle that Georgia has made from No. 1 to 2 and back to 1 over three polls hadn’t happened in more than a decade.
Florida went back and forth between Nos. 1 and 2 in 2009, flip-flopping with Alabama as both teams won in late October.
The Tide are the first team to drop from No. 1 to No. 3 after a victory since 1997, when Nebraska beat Missouri in overtime on the famous “Flea Kicker.” Michigan jumped from No. 4 to No. 1 on Nov. 10, 1997, after it won 34-8 at No. 2 Penn State.
In
James Madison has been a powerhouse in the the Football Championship Subdivision for years, winning a national title in 2016 and losing to North Dakota State in the NCAA championship game in 2017 and ’19. The Dukes have had no issue moving up so far, going 5-0 and averaging 44 points per game.
No. 22 Texas is ranked again after blowing out rival Oklahoma 49-0. The Longhorns are tied with Kentucky in the Top 25.
Out
BYU is unranked for the first time this season after losing to Notre Dame.
Washington dropped out of the rankings after a second straight loss.
LSU’s return to the Top 25 was brief after getting thumped at home by Tennessee.
Conference call
The Sun Belt went from its inception in 2001 to 2015 without having a ranked team. The conference has now had at least one team ranked for at least one week in each of the last five seasons and six of the last seven.
James Madison is the second Sun Belt team to reach the Top 25 this season along with Appalachian State.
SEC — 6 (Nos. 1, 3, 6, 9, 16, 22)
Big 12 — 5 (8, 13, 17, 19, 22)
ACC — 4 (Nos. 4, 14, 15, 18)
Big Ten — 4 (Nos. 2, 5, 10, 24)
Pac-12 — 4 (Nos. 7, 11, 12, 20)
American — 1 (No. 21)
Sun Belt — 1 (No. 25)
Ranked vs. ranked
Week 7 has a season-high six games matching ranked teams:
No. 10 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan, 11 a.m. Saturday, Fox-32
No. 3 Alabama at No. 6 Tennessee, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, CBS-2
No. 8 Oklahoma State at No. 13 TCU, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC-7
No. 15 North Carolina State at No. 18 Syracuse, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, ACCN
No. 16 Mississippi State at No. 22 Kentucky, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, SECN
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No. 7 USC at No. 20 Utah, 7 p.m., Fox-32