Oct. 15—CHAMPAIGN — As a player at Iowa from 1989 through 1992, Bret Bielema went 1-3 against Michigan. The lone win was a 24-23 decision at Ann Arbor in 1990.
As the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006-12, Bielema was 3-2 against the Wolverines.
And at Illinois, Bielema is 0-1 against Michigan. That’s a respectable 4-6 overall record against the winningest program in FBS history.
Of course, none of those previous games helps No. 22 Illinois (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) when it hosts No. 24 Michigan (4-2, 2-1) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS.
“Everyone’s got their history,” Bielama said during his Monday afternoon press conference at Memorial Stadium. “This game means a lot to me.”
The bulk of Bielema’s coaching history is in the Big Ten, as a head coach and on staffs at Iowa and Wisconsin.
“I’ve been in this conference a long time,” Bielema said.
His first game against Michigan as a player, Bielema was a redshirt freshman.
The game was at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium and legend Bo Schembechler was coaching the Wolverines, where he drew a penalty in the first half time to rile up the Hawkeyes’ fans.
Either way, it didn’t diminish what Bielema thinks of the Wolverines.
“I have a huge respect for who they are,” he said, “andwhat they are.”
In Bielema’s early years as the Wisconsin coach after succeeding Barry Alvarez, Lloyd Carr was the big boss at Michigan.
“Him and Coach Alvarez were very tight,” Bielema said. “The only game I lost my first year was to Michigan (27-13). I remember Lloyd grabbing me at spring meetings talking what I had in front of me, what I should be aware of.”
Saturday’s game includes the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Red Grange’s mind-numbing performance in a 39-14 win against Michigan. Four touchdowns in 12 minutes is all you need to know.
Bielema started talking about it with his players before the season.
“We didn’t know at the time we were going to have two ranked teams coming here,” he said.
Illinois called in some favors and got Nike to produce special throwback uniforms for the game.
“A lot went into it,” Bielema said.
Close call
The most recent game between the teams was in 2022, when Illinois visited No. 3 Michigan. The Wolverines rallied for a 19-17 victory during an emotional week for Bielema, whose mom, Marilyn, died in the days leading up to the game. He still coached the Illini that Saturday and nearly came away with a signature win.
“The last one was big,” Bielema said. “I thought we had a good enough football team to go up there and win. Unfortunately, it didn’t. There was a lot of things that went into it, things we could have done better. We didn’t get to rematch these guys last year, so we’ve got a chance to rematch them this year.”
Illinois has six rematch games this season. In the first four, it went 3-1, the lone loss coming at Penn State. Last year against the same schools, Illinois was 0-4.
“I think our guys know the growth they’ve had,” Bielema said.
Bielema understands the significance of the Michigan game to his employer.
Last time Illinois and Michigan played at Memorial Stadium as ranked teams was current athletic director Josh Whitman’s senior season with the Illini in 2000.
No reason to remind anybody how that turned out, with Michigan winning 35-31 thanks to two late calls that went in the Wolverines’ favor.
A positive that came out of the loss: It was the final straw for Penn State coach Joe Paterno when it came to using instant replay.
Soon, with Paterno’s blessing, the system was tried out on an experimental basis in the Big Ten and expanded to full use not long after.
Steady in crunch time
Illinois is 2-0 in overtime games this season and 3-0 in games decided by a touchdown or less.
Why?
Bielema points to the mindset of his players. He sees a compilation of quotes from the Illini after every game. A central theme has emerged.
“The way that we prepare is that the way that we play,” Bielema said. “They’ve been prepared. They’ve been put in that position. They visualize it. And also a little bit of some of the pain of the past. Our No. 1 season goal this year was remember the past, prepare for the future. Literally, every week that comes up.”
Making a pitch
Bielema doesn’t spend much time usually touting his players for national awards. But he made an exception on Monday to talk about receiver Pat Bryant.
The co-captain leads the teams in receiving yards with 452 on 27 catches and is tied for fourth in the nation with seven touchdown catches.
Currently, Bryant isn’t on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the nation’s top receiver. I am actually on the voting panel, but have no say in who is in the watch list.
“I would do a special shout out if everyone can amplify who Pat Bryant is to the Biletnikoff Award,” Bielema said. “I’m not trying to get him the award. I’m just trying to get him on the watch list. We had to do this last year with Isaiah Williams, who ended up being one of the best receivers in the country and is on an active NFL roster (Lions) now.
“We email them every week and it’s falling on deaf ears, but Pat Bryant is a guy who literally embodies everything we preach here about the development of who he is, what he is and what he stands for.”
Bob Asmussen is a college football reporter and columnist for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at 217-393-8248 or .
