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Illinois Football Should Move Up in CFP Rankings – But How Far?

College football's new playoff rankings come out Tuesday, for what it's worth to Illini fans

Steven Greenberg

Nov 23, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini running back Josh McCray (6) celebrates his touchdown during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Nov 23, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini running back Josh McCray (6) celebrates his touchdown during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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As Illinois football coach Bret Bielema correctly stated after his team's wild 38-31 win at Rutgers in Week 13, "Crazy things happen."

As crazy as the Illini (8-3) making a real push up the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday? Uh, no.

Seven teams ranked ahead of the Illini – who were No. 25 on last week's CFP list – lost on Saturday. No. 5 Indiana, No. 7 Alabama, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 14 BYU, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 Colorado and No. 19 Army all went down, some of them quite hard. And four of those teams (Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Colorado) suffered their third losses, leaving them with the same record as the Illini.

So, will the Illini move up seven spots, then? Goodness, no. The only one of those losing teams they might pass is Army, which was blown out by Notre Dame. Army has only one loss, but its schedule is one of the weakest in the country.

ESPN predicts Illinois will be at No. 24 – indeed, a spot ahead of Army – in the next rankings. A foursome of three-loss SEC teams are slotted in from 12 through 15, and even that territory makes it unlikely any of them will get into the playoff.

Illinois can forget all about it, which Bielema probably well understood even when he publicly entertained the "so you're saying we've got a chance" line of thinking. Focusing on Northwestern for a possible ninth win and likely Citrus Bowl berth should be more than good enough.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Instant Analysis: Illinois Wins 36-31 Thriller at Rutgers on Last-Second Score

3 Key Stats from Illinois Football vs. Rutgers (Week 13)

ESPN Gives Illinois Slim CFP Hopes – But Imagine What Might Have Been

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Steven Greenberg
STEVEN GREENBERG

Steve Greenberg, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, has written about college sports since the early 1990s.

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