Illinois football ended the 2022 campaign not ranked, and that is how we are starting the 2023 campaign as well.
At least there was some hope that the Illini would be able to sneak into the AP Top 25 entering the upcoming season. While it was a distant hope, it was at least hope, and that is nice to have.
The first AP Top 25 was released on Monday. Illinois didn’t make it into the top 25, but we did manage to receive three votes. If you count it out, we are technically the No.