The Illini are more than three months away from their first game of the season against Missouri, but hype from national media is at full strength.

As part of a daily countdown, magazine publisher Athlon Sports revealed Illinois as the No. 16-ranked team in its preseason poll Wednesday.

The company also picked the Illini to finish second in the Big Ten and selected 11 players to All-Big Ten teams.

“There’s no question that Illinois is one of the most talented teams in the Big Ten,” Athlon Sports senior editor Mitch Light said in a news release.

“Replacing Rashard Mendenhall will be tough, but the Illini have everything else in place to be very good on offense. And the defense, which was consistently strong last season, should be solid once again.”

Conference rival Penn State, the only other team from the Big Ten to be ranked as of Wednesday, is No. 23 in the poll.

Athlon will continue the countdown until June 4, when its No. 1 ranking is revealed.