The Fighting Illini may have been completely outmatched against a MAC program on Saturday, but they evidently did enough to improve their standing in the latest S&P+ rankings. The Orange and Blue improved two spots, and now sit at No. 61 nationally — a single spot behind Western Michigan despite the 34-10 loss.
Illinois’ offense is ranked No. 82, making it the team’s worst phase by a wide margin. The defense is still respectable at No. 47 overall, and I think that’s because advanced stats are taking opponents’ average field position into account; Lovie Smith’s talented front four can only do so much when pinned inside their own territory.