Former Florida State quarterback-turned-analyst Danny Kanell came to Illinois coach Bret Bielema's rescue following the release of Josh Pate's unofficial "JP Poll," which omitted the Fighting Illini despite beating Pate's 10th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in the Citrus Bowl New Year's Eve.

On Wednesday, Bielema learned of his quarterback Luke Altmyer's response to Josh Pate about Pate's "unofficial" rankings. Bielema attempted to make a social media jab at Pate but was instantly resistant after Pate's abrupt response.

Voting is open in the the new state flag design contest. The public can vote online at www.ilsos.gov/stateflag for one of the new designs, or for one of three flags that have already flown over the Land of Lincoln: the current state flag, the 1918 Centennial Flag and the 1968 Sesquicentennial Flag. Votes can be cast once a day through Feb. 14.

Flood control along the Mississippi River is a central piece of a newly passed federal law — work that advocates believe is critical as the river basin sees more frequent and severe extreme weather events due to climate change.

Join the National Great River Museum for Mississippi Meanderings, featuring talks on music history and a performance by Trapper Haskins.

Julian Reese had 27 points and 17 rebounds and Derik Queen scored 25 points to lead Maryland to a 91-70 victory over No. 17 Illinois.

In this exercise, Florida would replace Tennessee as the third SEC team into the playoff field in 2025.

Cam Carr elected to leave the Tennessee basketball program on Dec. 23. He announced Thursday he is transferring to Baylor.

With conference play well underway, and eight weeks to go until Selection Sunday, here is an early look at which teams could make the NCAA tournament field.

Noel Phillip Workman, Sr., passed away on January 20, 2025, just three days after his 85th birthday.

There are a pair of massive top-10 showdowns this weekend in college basketball, two games that will have a sizable impact on next week's Power Rankings. The first is Tennessee's trip to Auburn on Saturday.

CS Bakersfield at Cal St.-Fullerton, 10 p.m. Idaho St. at Sacramento St., 10 p.m. Long Beach St. at CS Northridge, 10 p.m. Loyola Marymount at Pacific, 10 p.m. San Diego at Portland, 10 p.m. UC Irvine at UC Riverside, 10 p.m. UC Santa Barbara at UC San Diego, 10 p.m. Weber St. at Portland St., 10 p.m.