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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Mahomet-Seymour football players, from left, Trey Peters Luke Dyer and Brock VanDeveer have some fun before the start of the 2024 season for the Bulldogs.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. The first Associated Press poll of the high school football season arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and five area teams earned a Top 10 ranking.
➜ 2. Mahomet-Seymour is ranked ninth in Class 5A, while St. Joseph-Ogden is sixth and Unity is 10th in 3A. In 2A, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin is 10th and in 1A, LeRoy is fifth. Centennial in 6A, Monticello in 3A, ALAH and Ridgeview/Lexington in 2A and Salt Fork and GCMS in 1A received votes.
➜ 3. The top-ranked teams in each class are as follows: Lincoln-Way East in 8A, Chicago Mt. Carmel in 7A, Cary-Grove in 6A, Nazareth Academy in 5A, Rochester in 4A, Byron in 3A, Maroa-Forsyth in 2A and Hardin Calhoun in 1A.
Luke Altmyer, left, and Kaden Feagin have helped Illinois start 2-0.
Numbers game: 60
undefeated FBS teams going into the fourth weekend of the season. Illinois included. The Illini are one of 13 from the Big Ten — along with Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Southern Cal, UCLA, Washington and Wisconsin. The Big Ten has the most undefeated teams, with the ACC and SEC next with nine each.
Bret Bielema will try to get his 21st win at Illinois on Saturday when the Illini host Central Michigan.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Central Michigan at Illinois football. The Chippewas and Illini have never met in football, but will do so for the first time on Saturday. Illinois is 21-5 all-time against current Mid-American Conference schools, with losses to Eastern Michigan (2019), Western Michigan (2016 and 2008) and Ohio (2006 and 1935).
➜ 2. Minnesota at Illinois soccer. A chance for the Illini to win their Big Ten opener for the first time since the abbreviated spring 2021 season happens when they host the Gophers at 7 p.m. Thursday.
➜ 3. Parkland at Heartland men’s soccer. A Top 15 NJCAA D-II matchup awaits at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Normal between No. 8 Parkland and No. 13 Heartland.
Stephanie Marsh, her husband, Cody, and their children, Mia, Carson and Levi. Cody is holding Mia and Carson is behind Levi.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with seventh-year Oakwood girls’ basketball coach Stephanie Marsh:
âžœ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Illini.
âžœ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma and Phil Jackson.
âžœ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … hearing kids say, ‘I can’t,’ or simply not giving their best effort on a daily basis.