Can't Wait For Saturday Illini picked ninth in preseason Big Ten poll
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Can't Wait For Saturday Illini picked ninth in preseason Big Ten poll
Jul. 27—***
again conducted a poll of Big Ten reporters to rank the league top to bottom. I was again one of the voters.
The results are below. But first, where did Illinois land? No. 9 on both the overall survey and on my ballot.
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That is a significant drop from a year ago, when Bret Bielema's team was pegged to finish fourth.
Good question: How accurate are the voters? A year ago. Penn State was picked to finish first. Oops. The Nittany Lions finished 7-6 and fired coach James Franklin during the season.
Where was eventual national champion Indiana in the 2025 preseason poll? No. 6. Missed that just a bit too.
Here are the 2026 results, which included votes from 31 Big Ten reporters:
1. Ohio State (15) 540
2. Oregon (11) 527
3. Indiana (5) 509
4. Southern California 446
5. Michigan 430
6. Penn State 380
7. Washington 366
8. Iowa 361
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9. Illinois 304
10. Minnesota 268
11. Nebraska 246
12. Wisconsin 207
13. UCLA 199
14. Northwestern 140
15. Maryland 137
16. Michigan State 99
17. Rutgers 97
18. Purdue 45
1. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State, (21) 82
2. Dante Moore , Oregon, (8) 62
3. Julian Sayin, Ohio State, (2( 25
4. Jayden Maiava, Southern Cal, 7
5. Josh Hoover, Indiana, 5
6. Bo Jackson Ohio State 1
6. Drake Lindsey Minnesota 1
6. Turbo Richard Indiana 1
6. Carter Smith Indiana 1
6. Demond Williams Jr. 1
1.Anthony Smith, Minnesota (2) 26
2. Brandon Finney Jr., Oregon (6) 25
3. Koi Perich, Oregon (4) 22
4. Tatum Tuioti, Oregon (5) 20
4. A'Mauri Washington, Oregon (5) 20
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6. Tyrique Tucker, Indiana (3 )17
7. John Henry Daley, Michigan (2) 15
8. Rolijah Hardy, Indiana (2) 8
9. Matayo Uiagalelei, Oregon 7
10. Jamari Sharpe, Indiana 6
11. Zach Lutmer, Iowa 4
12. Earl Little, Ohio State 3
13. Anthony Jones, Nebraska 2
14. Amare Ferrell, Indiana 1
14. Kenyatta Jackson, Ohio State 1
14. Isaiah Jones, Indiana 1
14. Jaylen McClain, Ohio State 1
