Northwestern enters AP Top 25 for first time in nearly six years

If you looked at the newly released AP Top 25 poll and thought that Northwestern being ranked felt unfamiliar, you'd have been correct.

The Wildcats are off to a 4-1 start this season and that has earned them their first ranking in the AP Poll in quite some time.

Northwestern is ranked for the first time since the end of the 2020 season

The last time Northwestern found itself ranked in the AP Top 25 was at the end of the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Under head coach Pat Fitzgerald, the Wildcats went 7-2 with a victory in the Citrus Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 14 in the final poll.

In the five seasons following, Northwestern won just 23 games and had not appeared in the AP Poll at any point. That all changed Sunday when the Wildcats appeared at No. 25 in the AP Poll headed into Week 7.

Quarterback Aidan Chiles has contributed greatly to the outstanding start, as he's yet to throw an interception this season and his 78.2 QBR ranks 26th in the country.