After a big win Saturday over Minnesota for Homecoming at Memorial Stadium, Illinois is up to no. 18 in this week's AP college football poll and moves into the Coaches poll for the first time this season at no. 20.
Illinois is 6-1, tied for its best start since 1953. The Illini reached bowl eligibility on Oct. 15, becoming the 10th team in the nation to get to six wins.
The Illini are on a five-game winning streak, including three Big Ten West wins in back-to-back-to-back weeks. It is the first time Illinois has won five in a row since 2011 and the first time Illinois is 3-1 in the Big Ten since 2007.
The Illini will head into a bye this weekend and return on Oct. 29 at Nebraska.
Tennessee rose three spots to No. 3 in this week's AP Top 25 after the Volunteers upset Alabama 52-49 on Saturday for their first victory over the Crimson Tide since 2006. The rise continues a storybook start to the season for the Vols after second-year coach Josh Heupel's team began the year unranked. With wins over Pittsburgh, Florida, LSU and Alabama, four of Tennessee's six wins have come against teams who were ranked at the time of the matchup.
That resume is among the most impressive bodies of work by any team in college football, but No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Ohio State are still ahead of Tennessee in a tight race for the top spot after impressive starts of their own. The Bulldogs received 31 first-place votes while Ohio State and Tennessee received 17 and 15, respectively.
Alabama fell to No. 6 after its first loss of the season, marking the Crimson Tide's lowest ranking since finishing the 2019 season ranked No. 8. Ole Miss rose two spots to No. 7 following its 48-34 win over Auburn to give the SEC four of the poll's top seven teams.
Tulane made a surprise appearance in the poll this week at No. 25 after improving to 6-1 with a 45-31 win at South Florida. It marks the first time since 1998 that the Green Wave have been ranked. Their resume is highlighted by a Sept. 17 win at No. 17 Kansas State.
After falling from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 43-42 loss at Utah on Saturday, USC dropped six spots to No. 12 in the Coaches Poll on Sunday. The fall comes as a sour pill for the Trojans, who were well-positioned to cement their place as College Football Playoff contenders following losses by other top-10 teams Penn State, Oklahoma State and Alabama during a wild Week 7.
Instead, the Trojans now face an uphill climb as they enter a bye week sitting at third in the Pac-12 standings. USC led Utah 21-7 in the first half and surged ahead 42-35 with 6:15 remaining but could not get into position for a potential game-winning field goal in the final minute after the Utes scored a go-ahead touchdown and 2-point conversion with 48 seconds left.
With the win, Utah rose four spots to No. 15, giving the Pac-12 four teams in the top 15 ahead of Week 8's huge showdown between No. 9 Oregon and No. 10 UCLA, which is the league's last unbeaten team at 6-0. Joining the Ducks and Bruins among those rising into the top 10 was TCU -- one of the poll's big winners. The Horned Frogs leaped seven spots to No. 8 following their 43-40 win over Oklahoma State.
Georgia reclaimed the top spot in the Coaches Poll following a 55-0 win over Vanderbilt and Alabama's loss at Tennessee. The Crimson Tide fell to No. 6 while the Volunteers climbed to No. 4.
