Illinois impresses AP Top 25 Poll voters after Week 2 victory

Tommy Spaletto

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Illinois impresses AP Top 25 Poll voters after Week 2 victory image

Illinois picked up an impressive victory last Saturday in front of a sold-out Memorial Stadium, defeating the No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks 23-17. The Fighting Illini are now 2-0 on the season as they enter their non-conference finale this Saturday.

Their win on Saturday impressed more than just many fans around the country. Illinois received the most votes among AP Poll voters to be in this week’s Top 25 despite just missing the cut, with 101 votes total.


The play from their offensive line is a massive reason for the Illini’s success so far. The unit did a great job pass blocking for new quarterback Luke Altmyer, who made some huge throws in the fourth quarter to lead Illinois to a comeback victory. The defense also came up huge in this one, as cornerback Xavier Scott intercepted Kansas QB Jalon Daniels twice, leading him to National Player of the Week honors.

With this newfound confidence, it will be interesting to see how Illinois will handle some of the more formidable teams on its schedule. The Illini will pay road visits to Penn State and host Michigan within the next month, who struggled in their week two games. 

Nevertheless, the Illini focus their attention on Central Michigan this weekend, who was thoroughly outplayed by Florida International in Miami. 

Tommy Spaletto

Tommy Spaletto Photo

Tommy Spaletto is a recent graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Media and a concentration in Sports Media.  In his time at Indiana University, he wrote columns, features, and game reports for The Hoosier Network covering football, men’s/women’s basketball, and women’s soccer. As a college basketball fanatic, he is patiently waiting for the Hoosiers to return to glory. Tommy currently serves as a contributing writer covering Big Ten football news, rumors, and developing stories.