Oregon doesn’t care about its No. 1 ranking, but Illinois sure does.

The No. 20 Fighting Illini visit the Ducks today at Autzen Stadium in Eugene with a chance to knock off the top-ranked team in the country. Illinois coach Bret Bielema indicated the ranking is motivation for his squad.

“For me, as a head coach, to ignore that would be silly,” Bielema said this week. “We have to know that that’s the No. 1 team in the country and there’s a reason they’re No. 1. They’re a very good football team, they execute very, very well.”

The Illini (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) haven’t faced the top-ranked team in the nation since 2007, when they beat Ohio State on the road 28-21. Illinois finished that season 9-4 and played in the Rose Bowl.

Oregon (7-0, 4-0) has a way different take on the rankings. When asked about it, coach Dan Lanning said: “Who cares?”

“I think it’s really simple for us when our messaging hasn’t changed the entire year. You don’t sit halfway through a meal and say you’re done eating when there’s still a lot of food left on the plate,” Lanning explained. “That’s where we’re at: We’re at the midpoint of the season. We’re not done yet. There’s a lot of things that we still want to accomplish. So that doesn’t really matter for us.”

Oregon is coming off a 35-0 blanking of Purdue. But it was a 32-31 victory over then No. 2 Ohio State the week before that made a statement in the Ducks’ first season in the Big Ten.

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, rising in the Heisman conversation, is leading the country with a 77% completion rate. He has 15 passing touchdowns and four rushing scores.

“When you’ve got a quarterback in that environment with a team around him, it’s always a challenge,” Bielema said.

Gabriel’s Illinois counterpart is Luke Altmyer, who has thrown for 15 touchdowns this season.

Other Top 25 games

No. 3 Penn St. (6-0) at Wisconsin (5-2): Penn State is seeking its first 7-0 start since 2019, when the Nittany Lions won their first eight games and finished 11-2. Wisconsin is attempting to beat a top-five team for the first time since a 31-18 victory over No. 1 Ohio State in 2010. Wisconsin also will be trying to beat Penn State for the first time since 2011. Penn State has won the last five games in this series.

No. 4 Ohio St. (5-1) vs. Nebraska (5-2): Ohio State let a 32-31 game slip away to Oregon on Oct. 12, then had an off week to stew in it. With a 12-team College Football Playoff this season, Ohio State is still a player, but its margin of error is now smaller. Nebraska was blown out last week by an Indiana team that is one of the big surprises of the Big Ten. The Huskers’ 56-7 loss was their most lopsided since they got walloped 62-3 at Ohio State in 2016.

No. 5 Texas (6-1) at No. 25 Vanderbilt (5-2): The Longhorns have a shaky quarterback situation coming out of last week’s loss to Georgia. The Commodores, on a three-game winning streak and ranked for the first time in more than a decade, already have beaten Alabama and are looking to collect another big pelt.

No. 6 Miami (7-0) vs. Florida St. (1-6): Miami can remain unbeaten on the year, remain squarely in the ACC title mix and snap a three-game losing streak against the rival Seminoles. Florida State needs to win its final five games just to finish 6-6 and have a realistic chance at a bowl game. And the chance to derail Miami’s unbeaten start surely will be a major motivator for the ‘Noles.

No. 8 LSU (6-1) at No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1): At stake is SEC supremacy — at least for one week. Though there’s plenty of football to be played, the winner will have a leg up in securing a spot in the conference championship game. Both teams have won six games in a row after dropping their openers. LSU’s ascent has coincided with freshman Caden Durham’s emergence at running back. Texas A&M was without quarterback Conner Weigman for three games because of a shoulder injury. Marcel Reed was solid as Weigman’s replacement, and the Aggies have been able to lean on running back Le’Veon Moss and a stingy defense.

No. 11 BYU (7-0) at UCF (3-4): All eyes are on BYU after the Cougars reached 7-0 for the first time since 2020. Now in the Big 12, the Cougars have a clear path to national recognition and a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff. BYU has no room for a slip up, though, with a jumble of teams in the mix atop the Big 12. UCF has lost four straight but nearly knocked off No. 10 Iowa State last week.

No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) vs. No. 24 Navy (6-0): Notre Dame comes into the most recent version of the longtime rivalry with the higher ranking but, unusually, one more loss than the Midshipmen. The Fighting Irish realize another loss, even to a ranked opponent, could derail their playoff hopes before November. Navy is trying to snap a six-game losing streak in the series and celebrate its first 7-0 start since 1978.

No. 13 Indiana (7-0) vs. Washington (4-3): A magical season has turned Indiana into college football’s biggest surprise. A win would match its 1967 Rose Bowl team for the best start in school history and would keep the Hoosiers atop the Big Ten standings as they chase a playoff spot. It’s been a rough season for the Huskies, who replaced 21 of 22 starters from last year’s national runner-up team.

No. 15 Alabama (5-2) vs. No. 21 Missouri (6-1): Both teams have their playoff hopes hanging in the balance after falls from the top 10. Frustrations are running high in Tuscaloosa, where first-year coach Kalen DeBoer has gotten off to a rough start despite a huge win over No. 2 Georgia. Alabama will enter November with multiple losses for the first time since 2007. Missouri produced a come-from-behind win over Auburn when Brady Cook returned from an early-game injury. The Tigers failed their only other test against a ranked team, falling 41-10 to Texas A&M.