Connect with us

Illinois

Illinois Coach Bret Bielema’s Long Journey Leading To His Fourth Season in Champaign

Published

on

Illinois Coach Bret Bielema’s Long Journey Leading To His Fourth Season in Champaign


Illinois coach Bret Bielema has not had an ordinary journey in his head coaching career.

He got his first opportunity to lead a college football program when he was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach by Wisconsin in 2006 with the retirement of Barry Alvarez. Alvarez chose him to be his replacement, and he had immediate success.

Bielema won 17 of his first 18 games at Wisconsin, which is the third-best start to a head coaching career in Big Ten history. He ended up with four double-digit victory seasons during his time coaching the Badgers. From 2010 to 2012, he won three consecutive Big Ten championships and played in three Rose Bowls. His success at Wisconsin was undeniable, but he was ready for a new challenge.

He accepted the head coaching job at Arkansas in 2013 and attempted to conquer the SEC as he had done with the Big Ten. But he found that to be tougher than he anticipated. He went 29-34 in five seasons in Fayetteville after going 68-24 in seven years at Wisconsin. He simply was not cut out for the SEC and the difficulties that come with a job like Arkansas in the SEC West. Despite some success, he was fired after failing to meet expectations.

Advertisement
Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bret Bielema looks on from the sidelines against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Oct 14, 2017; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bret Bielema looks on from the sidelines against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. / John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Bielema was hired as an assistant on the New England Patriots staff and ended up winning a Super Bowl with them in 2018. In 2020 he served as the outside linebackers coach for the New York Giants before making his return to college football. Illinois gave him a six-year contract and allowed him to coach in the Big Ten again, a conference he won three times with Wisconsin.

It has been a work in progress, but so far, Bielema is 21-19 at Illinois heading into Friday’s matchup with Nebraska. After having a disappointing 5-7 campaign last year, the Fighting Illini are 3-0 and ranked No. 24 in this week’s AP Poll. They are preparing for a ranked matchup with No. 22 Nebraska in the biggest game of the year so far for either team.

While he may have taken a long time to get to where he is now, Bielema has plenty of experience coaching in big games. That experience will help the Fighting Illini when they walk into a frenzied Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

MORE: Ty Robinson: Nebraska Football, Blackshirts Preparing for ‘Physical’ Matchup with Illinois

MORE: Nebraska’s Matt Rhule Reverses Field on Status of Right Guard Micah Mazzccua

MORE: Tales from the Tailgate: ‘Tailgate Princess’ Keeps the Party Going

MORE: I-80 Club: Is Nebraska Good? Split Zone Duo’s Alex Kirshner on the Huskers

MORE: The Common Fan: Expectations Rise as Huskers Gear Up for Conference Play

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, following HuskerMax on X, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Illinois

LIVE BLOG: Kentucky WBB vs. Illinois

Published

on

LIVE BLOG: Kentucky WBB vs. Illinois


After the game against Arizona State, Kentucky now will wrap up their time in the Music City Classic against No. 19 Illinois. (8 p.m. ET). KSR’s new and improved LIVE BLOG will bring you all the real-time updates you need to keep up with the Cats.

The Fighting Illini are arguably the best team that Kentucky has faced up until this point, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Cats can leave Nashville with a winning taste in their mouths prior to facing No. 16 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The game will stream on BallerTV, so if you’re unable to watch, we’ve got you covered. Refresh the feed below for updates and our takes on the game. You can also join the conversation on the KSBoard Game Thread.

Advertisement

End 1Q: 18-14 Illinois

11/27/2024 07:17:14 PM

Kentucky is shooting just 35% from the field and 22% from three-point range thus far.

6:05 1Q: 10-5 Kentucky

11/27/2024 07:05:55 PM

Not a bad start for the Cats.

Advertisement

Illinois has the longest winning streak in the country

11/27/2024 06:57:51 PM

Per the BallerTV broadcast, the Fighting Illini have the longest winning streak in the country with 11 consecutive wins.

Kentucky’s starting lineup

11/27/2024 06:40:15 PM

– Georgia Amoore
– Dazia Lawrence
– Amelia Hassett
– Teonni Key
– Clara Strack





Source link

Continue Reading

Illinois

Dog In The Leaves, 'Marty' The Deer And A Frosty Morning: IL In Photos

Published

on

Dog In The Leaves, 'Marty' The Deer And A Frosty Morning: IL In Photos


ILLINOIS — Take a look through this set of images from across Illinois. We’re seeing many great opportunities for readers to get some memorable photographs throughout the state this fall.

To have your photo potentially featured on Patch, send it to Eric DeGrechie at eric.degrechie@patch.com. We just ask that you make sure the photo you send is one you have taken personally, and allow Patch to use on all platforms. Include your name for credit and a brief description of the photo, including where it was taken. Also, please remove any watermarks. Thank you!

Marge Fox, of Lemont, got this fascinating photo of the clouds and sun off the highway.

Kiersten Wheeler, of Hinsdale, tells us “Marty,” seen here, is one of the regulars at her home and was born there in the spring of 2023.

Kimberley Schumacher grabbed her camera and photographed “a frosty morning glow awakens the days to new possibilities” in Bull Valley.


Katarzyna Jagiello photographed her beautiful cat, Popiolek, who she says “loves the sun,” looking outside.

Ramona McClusky, of Joliet, sent in this photo of a squirrel eating pumpkins.

Lynn Wesley, of Tinley Park, got this great shot of a female house finch during the first snow of the season.

Sean Wolf Harper submitted this photo he took of his dogs, Samson and Daisy Mae, hanging out as the sun sets.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Illinois

Illinois Fighting Illini square off against the No. 19 Arkansas Razorbacks

Published

on

Minnesota hosts Los Angeles following Harden’s 43-point game


Associated Press

Arkansas Razorbacks (5-1) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1)

Kansas City, Missouri; Thursday, 4 p.m. EST

Advertisement

BOTTOM LINE: No. 19 Arkansas and Illinois square off in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Fighting Illini are 5-1 in non-conference play. Illinois is 5-1 in games decided by at least 10 points.

The Razorbacks have a 5-1 record against non-conference oppponents. Arkansas ranks seventh in the SEC shooting 35.5% from 3-point range.

Illinois scores 89.0 points, 29.8 more per game than the 59.2 Arkansas gives up. Arkansas has shot at a 50.3% rate from the field this season, 15.9 percentage points above the 34.4% shooting opponents of Illinois have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Will Riley is shooting 54.8% from beyond the arc with 2.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Fighting Illini, while averaging 17.2 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Advertisement

Boogie Fland is shooting 48.1% from beyond the arc with 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Razorbacks, while averaging 17.2 points, 5.5 assists and 2.2 steals.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending