| Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley | | | | gold standard. |
| | | | |
| Coach Ron Zook's Illinois team took the Big | | | | Part of Illinois' No. 66 rating at the moment |
| Ten by storm last year, tying with Michigan | | | | is because the Fighting Illini have played a |
| for the runner-up spot at 6-2, and going 9-3 | | | | weak schedule of opponents, the 106th weakest |
| in the regular season. The Fighting Illini | | | | schedule rank in the country to be exact. |
| from Champaign got ahead by sneaking up on | | | | Sure, the Illini opened with Missouri (not |
| some opponents. | | | | exactly a walk in the park) but they also |
| | | | have squared off against Eastern Illinois |
| Then they arrived at the Rose Bowl to face | | | | (rated 157th) and Louisiana-Lafayette (rated |
| Southern California and took about 49 shots | | | | 128th), not exactly college football |
| to the head with a ball-peen hammer as the | | | | powerhouses. |
| Trojans won going away, 49-17. Last year | | | | |
| Illinois finished at No. 20 in the final AP | | | | Here is also a news flash for the Fighting |
| Poll. All of last year's fight and hype moved | | | | Illini, who gave up an average of 30 points |
| Illinois into this year's AP Top 25 Poll. | | | | to their first 3 opponents: You cannot give |
| | | | up 30 points a game and win a lot of games |
| The Illini, currently ranked No. 22, have no | | | | against good teams. Last year Illinois gave |
| business being in AP's Top 25, and will | | | | up 21 points per game and still won 9 games. |
| probably figure that out after visiting No. | | | | This year the Illini defense gave up 52 |
| 16 Penn State at Happy Valley next weekend | | | | points in losing to Missouri in their opener. |
| (9-27-08). They have a bye this weekend and | | | | Missouri is currently ranked No. 5 in the AP |
| will need all of the extra time to get ready | | | | Poll. |
| to face Jo Pa's (Joe Paterno's) Nittany | | | | |
| Lions. | | | | The road ahead for Ron Zook's Illini is |
| | | | interesting as they must face Penn State |
| Teams that did well last year generally get a | | | | (currently 3-0), Michigan (1-2), Minnesota |
| free pass into the AP Top 25 the following | | | | (3-0), Indiana (2-0), Wisconsin (3-0), Iowa |
| year. Whether they maintain the ranking is | | | | (3-0), Ohio State (2-1) and Northwestern |
| another question. In Illinois' case, while | | | | (3-0). The combined record of these opponents |
| they are currently No. 22 in the AP Poll, the | | | | is 20-3 at the moment. |
| Sagarin football ratings puts them at No. 66, | | | | |
| where they belong. | | | | Zook just might get snookered before he |
| | | | sneaks up on anyone this year. |
| The AP Top 25 Poll is determined each week by | | | | |
| 64 influential sportswriters around the | | | | If you are wondering, the next 5 most |
| country. It can be argued that it is a | | | | overrated teams currently in the AP Poll are |
| popularity poll. Jeff Sagarin's NCAA Football | | | | Fresno State, South Florida, Clemson, Kansas |
| Ratings uses a scientific, statistical | | | | and Missouri (yes, Missouri). The two most |
| analysis to determine the pecking order for | | | | underrated teams are Penn State and Brigham |
| the 245 teams in Division I-A (119 teams) and | | | | Young (BYU). |
| I-AA (the rest). Sagarin's ratings are the | | | | |