By: Zain Bando
Third-year Illini coach Bret Bielema voiced concerns after a gut-wrenching 25-21 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday in Champaign.
Illinois had surrendered a 21-10 lead before losing in the game’s closing moments on a long, sustained drive by the Badger offensive attack, led by quarterback Braedyn Locke.
After losing to his old team, Bielema was left empty.
A controversial targeting call on DT Jer’Zhan Newton, which ejected him from the contest, sucked the air out of Memorial Stadium, and eventually kickstarted the Badgers’ comeback. Over a year after the Illini had snapped a 20-year losing skid in Madison, it came back down to reality in a hurry.
“It just turned the game. It’s maddening,” Bielema said Saturday after the loss. “It’s one of the most frustrating things to have one of your best players make a great play and to have it go 30 yards the other way is insanity.
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The Illini had their momentum flipped in the opposite direction one week prior, as they upset Maryland in College Park. What looked to be a season-defining turning point was anything but.
To most Illini fans, this is nothing new. The past three decades have seen little success for a once-storied program, which Bielema attempts to fix. Shades of magic, which the 8-5 team from the 2022 team possessed, seems like a distant memory.
As referenced in a previous Bielema story, it begins and ends with the head coach, the ultimate leader of the program. Although Newton’s targeting call ultimately changed the course of the game and season, sitting at 3-5 with four games to go was not the initial expectation entering the 2023 season.
It was about reaching higher goals, playing above themselves, and continuing a newfound tradition of excellence.
Without change, the same results will continue to occur weekly and year after year.
Something has to give, regardless of whether or not officiating played a part in the loss.
“Zero [explanation],” Bielema said “I’ve been in this league a long time. Everybody is going to have their opinions on things, and I love the Big Ten. I love the officials. I literally have had, not just in this game but over the course of the year where I’m just tired of it. I can’t handle it. I don’t understand it. Very frustrating.”
Although Illinois has hit the bye week with four games left, Bielema still treats it as all business, he said.
“Take advantage of the bye week,” Bielema said Wednesday during his media scrum. “I’ve always thought the bye week is about three things — rest and recover your guys that have got a lot of high reps. Take an inventory of your two-deep and [developmental] guys and try to have them develop in this off-week as much as possible.”
Development or not, Illinois will have to find consistency rather quickly to increase its bowl game prospects, as it needs at least three more wins to get there.
Bielema and company will travel to take on Minnesota on Nov. 4 after a bye this week. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
