llinois moved up five spots to No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches Poll following the win at Nebraska on Saturday. The Illini got a total of 767 votes from the panel of 63 head coaches at Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

The Illini landed at No. 14 in the weekly AP Top 25, up three spots from last week. Illinois jumped ahead of Penn State, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest and Syracuse after each team lost on Saturday.

Illinois now holds its highest ranking in both polls since the 2007 team was ranked N. 13 in both polls at the end of the regular season. That team went on to play No. 6 USC in the 2008 Rose Bowl game.

Illinois won four games in October for the first time since 1990 and has 7 wins for the first time since 2011.

Head coach Bret Bielema holds a winning record at Illinois, going 12-8 overall and 8-6 in the Big Ten.

Illinois has an opportunity over the next two weeks to take a commanding lead in the Big Ten West before traveling to Michigan on November 19. The Illini will be favored in home games against Michigan State and Purdue.

Next up for Illinois is a home game on Saturday against Michigan State. The Spartans (3-5, 1-4 B1G) are coming off of a 29-7 loss to No. 4 Michigan on Saturday. Illinois won the last meeting between the two teams 37-34 in in 2019 in East Lansing.

A win over the Spartans would give Illinois its best start since going 10-1 in the 2001 and a No. 7 ranking before playing LSU in the 2002 Sugar Bowl.

The Illini will then host Purdue (5-3, 3-2 B1G) for Senior Day on November 12. The Boilermakers sport the No. 2 passing offense in the Big Ten behind Ohio State. Purdue is coming off of a bye after losing 35-24 at Wisconsin on October 22. The Badgers snapped a four-game Purdue winning streak.