Illinois Football: Bret Bielema draws positives from tough win over Purdue

Bielema’s Positive Takeaway From A Sloppy Win

A defensive meltdown nearly cost Illinois Football the cannon for a 4th straight season. However, all things considered, coach Bret Bielema noted an overall positive takeaway from Illinois’ 50-49 win over Purdue.

Ryan Walter’s Boilermakers came out of halftime hot facing a 24-3 deficit, and scored 46 points in the 2nd half against the Fighting Illini. Despite a valiant effort from the Boilermakers, Illinois held on in overtime to move to 5-1 on the season, earning a ranking of #22 in this week’s AP Top 25.

Let’s face it, we have watched Illinois Football lose games like this time and time again in recent history. The Illini pulling off wins with their back against the wall is undoubtedly a sign of program progress under Bielema. For the Illini coach, Illinois Football got stronger for having faced such adversity on Saturday night, despite creating a rollercoaster of emotions for Bielema.

Something Good Teams Do

In the eyes of coach Bielema, there is plenty of work to be done. However, a win is a win at the end of the day, and not to be loomed over negatively. Especially when there is so much valuable season ahead for Illinois Football.

“To have a big lead is something we haven’t done this year.” says Bielema. “You know, we won convincingly probably against Central Michigan, and Eastern Illinois, but those kind of took us a while to get there. So, to have that lead, and then kind of, I think, whether as coaches, as players, to let our guard down for a moment… like the worst things that can happen are big plays against our defense, give them free yards, and then obviously turnovers on offense, and turnovers that lead to scores. That was the double whammy. It was the trifecta of how to screw it up.”

“To be able to live through that and win it. To be that fortunate to have that bad of football played and come out and still win it, that’s something that I think good teams do. I think we are a good team. We’re a 5-1 team that is knocking on the door of doing something really cool. Our guys, I think they really wanted to win this game.” The Illini coach continued, “Maybe they knew I was really into it, right? I’m into every game, but this one just pissed me off on so many different levels to be quite honest.” 

Bielema Concluded, “I just know how we run our business, and I stand on that. I love the way our guys fight, the way they practice, the way they prepare, I love the way we coach as coaches, I love the way they recruit, I love the way they develop, and to get this win was a big deal.”

Video Credit: Illini Inquirer 

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