For the first time this year, Illinois is ranked in the CFP Top 25.
The Illini checked in Tuesday night at No. 21, marking the second straight season the Orange and Blue found themselves ranked in mid-November.
While you shouldn’t expect the 7-3 Illini to still find their way into the 12-team playoff, it’s quite the accomplishment for a long dormant program to appear in the rankings, especially after a rough stretch in the middle of the season.
Despite still having some kind of shot to make the Playoff, the folks at FanDuel Sportsbook don’t have any odds for Illinois to make it into the field.
Besides Ohio State and Indiana, the only Big Ten team that is an odds-on favorite to make the CFP according to FanDuel is Oregon (-300). Michigan (+730) and USC (+360) are still on the outside looking in.
Maybe an eighth win this weekend in Madison would do the Illini some help, but I wouldn’t put too much money on it. We’ll have to see!
