Indiana coach gives Illinois football its highest rank in final coaches poll
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Curt Cignetti is the toast of college football after leading Indiana to its first national championship after a victory against Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game.
The Hoosiers coach also is a fan of the Illinois football team.
A total of 62 coaches voted in the US LBM Coaches Poll this season. Of those, exactly half put the Fighting Illini in their final top 25 ranking of 2025. Cignetti put Illinois the highest, placing Bret Bielema's team at No. 16.
Here are the coaches who voted for Illinois and where they ranked them. Bielema does not vote in the poll.
College football coaches to voted for Illinois in final 2025 poll
- Curt Cignetti, Indiana: No. 16
- Dave Aranda, Baylor: No. 17
- Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky: No. 18
- Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic: No. 18
- Dan Lanning, Oregon: No. 18
- Jedd Fisch, Washington: No. 19
- Sonny Dykes, TCU: No. 20
- David Braun, Northwestern: No. 21
- Jamey Chadwell, Liberty: No. 21
- Rhett Lashlee, SMU: No. 21
- Manny Diaz, Duke: No. 22
- GJ Kinne, Texas State: No. 22
- Brian Newberry, Navy: No. 22
- Lance Leipold, Kansas: No. 22
- Kirby Smart, Georgia: No. 22
- Jeff Brohm, Louisville: No. 23
- Jason Candle, Toledo: No. 23
- Pete Lembo, Buffalo: No. 23
- Matt Rhule, Nebraska: No. 23
- Jay Sawvel, Wyoming: No. 23
- Mark Stoops, Kentucky: No. 23
- Bob Chesney, James Madison: No. 24
- Ryan Day, Ohio State: No. 24
- Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame: No. 24
- Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois: No. 24
- Troy Calhoun, Air Force: No. 25
- Ryan Carty, Delaware: No. 25
- Kalen DeBoer, Alabama: No. 25
- Luke Fickell, Wisconsin: No. 25
- Clark Lea, Vanderbilt: No. 25
- Mike Locksley, Maryland: No. 25
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois football coaches poll: Who had Illini highest?
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