Can't Wait For Saturday Illinois lands at No. 33 in ESPN's initial efficiency rankings for 2026
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Apr. 7—***
The folks covering college football at ESPN just released their team efficiency rankings for the 2026 season. And once again, the Big Ten is projected to be a hit.
The conference that has won the the last three College Football Playoff titles landed three of the first five spots on the list that ranks all the schools in the FBS.
Ohio State leads the way followed by No. 2 Oregon. Notre Dame is at No. 3, then Georgia and defending national champion Indiana at No. 5.
Three more Big Ten schools are in the Top 20: No. 13 Southern California, No. 14 Michigan and No. 17 Penn State.
Washington checks in at No. 21, followed by No. 22 Iowa.
Illinois is ninth in the Big Ten and No. 33 overall, followed by Nebraska (37), Minnesota (45), UCLA (46), Northwestern (49), Maryland (55), Wisconsin (61), Rutgers (62), Michigan State (67) and Purdue (82).
Illinois' FBS nonconference opponents Duke and UAB are No. 44 and No. 124. respectively.
In the overall conference rankings, the SEC is first followed by the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC.
A reminder, the rankings consider four items for each school: returning production, recent history, recent recruiting and coaching change effects.
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