Iowa and Minnesota both lost Saturday, cracking the door open for chaos and the Illini on this side of the footprint.
“We knew we had a tough stretch here,’’ Illinois HC Bret Bielema said. “Obviously, we took care of page 1. Now we have to play Iowa at our place and back to back with Minnesota in some Big Ten West stuff.’’
Illinois Rivals site wrote, "the Badgers have never been the same after losing Bielema, and the balance of power in the weak Big Ten Conference West shifted as Illini quarterback Tommy DeVito led an efficient offense and the defense shut down Wisconsin for all but the first 4 minutes of the game."
Talk about underplaying the early success of former Badger coach Paul Chryst, who was fired today, after a 2-3 start in Year 8.
“It feels great,’’ said Bielema, busting a big smile before he could leave the field. “We talked all week about the last 20 years nobody (from Illinois) had been able to do this.
“I feel good for our fans. When we got here, we talked about building pride in Illinois. Hopefully, we made our people very proud.’’
Illinois (4-1 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten) allowed the Badgers 2 yards rushing – that’s not a misprint – and flourished behind QB Tommy DeVito, who scored on three quarterback sneaks and led an offensive explosion while avoiding the big mistake.
Perhaps this is the start of something bigger.
“I’d like to thank Josh Whitman,’’ Bielema said. “He gave me the game ball in there. The opportunity he gave me in coming back here and every week to be in this position, I can’t say enough.
“I don’t make it about a big moment for me. I make it about us. It’s about Illinois football. To me, it’s a sign of respect back to Madison. I’m proud of what we’ve built at Illinois and what we could do today. It’s a big deal. I know what’s in my heart, my background and history to appreciate and enjoy it. This moment is what I’m all about now.’’
That defensive breakdown on the late touchdown drive leading to the loss at Indiana may come back to haunt the Illini, but they’ve rebounded with a win on the road in a place where Illinois hadn’t won since 2002, catching the attention of the rest of the division.
With a quarterback proving himself capable in the Big Ten West, a tough running game and a defense living up to its national ranking in the stats, it comes to ask the question.
Why not Illinois the Illini Rivals site shares?
Why not Illinois in a division just asking for a team to step up and grab the race by the throat. The Illini have one of the best running backs in the country, the defensive coordinator who might be the hardest guy to keep in the program and suddenly a legitimate chance to win the weak side of the Big Ten.
Illinois hasn't beat Iowa, since 2008.
Iowa has won eight straight in the series against the Illini. Saturday night in Champaign, we shall see how Bret's second edition Illini team fares against Kirk Ferentz's 24th edition.
And, it shouldn't, the Hawkeyes were #2 in Big Ten recordwise over the past three seasons. Actually, each of the past three seasons Iowa has been young, in aspects of each team, especially the 2020 season (top 5 among P5 teams).
Iowa's recruiting has been on an upswing. The Class of 2023 wasn't projecting well for the Badgers.
