On December 19, 2020, Bret Bielema was announced as the next head coach at the University of Illinois, succeeding the Lovie Smith experiment.
A Recap of Illinois’ First Season Under Bret Bielema
In his first season the Illini won their first game, defeating a Nebraska Cornhusker team that at the time was favored over the Illini. Even though there were some great plays in the first game, the defense also allowed Nebraska back into the game in the second half and the Illini narrowly escaped with a win. But there were enough positives from the first B1G conference win that fans felt some confidence going into the next game against UTSA. But that soon faltered and the Illini went on a four game losing streak.
With a win over Conference USA opponent Charlotte and then a shutout loss (24 – 0) to the Wisconsin Badgers, it left many Illini fans wondering if/how the Illini would progress the rest of the season.
Then the Illini traveled to #7 Penn St. in which became one of the most iconic wins for the Illini in years. The EPIC 9 OVERTIME GAME. The Illini came away with the narrow 20 – 18 victory. Illini fans were ecstatic and hopes for improvement in a lackluster football program began.
Then the Illini laid the proverbial egg against a Rutgers team that the Illini were favored to win. The following three games, the Illini went 2-1. They defeated Minnesota, narrowly lost to #18 Iowa, and then beat arch rival Northwestern 47 – 14.
Looking Ahead to Year Two
The 2022 season brings on a whole new realm of challenges for Bielema and staff. NIL, and the transfer portal first come to mind.
Bielema was not happy with the offensive production in 2021. He relieved first year Offensive Coordinator Tony Peterson and hired UTSA Offensive Coordinator Barry Lunney to the same position. Both Bielema and Lunney have a history together by working together at Arkansas. Bielema has if nothing else shown that there are performance expectations at Illinois within the coaching staff.
The largest impact that Bielema has made in his 2nd season is recruiting the talent pool from in state high schools.
The 2022 season leaves a lot of questions as far as what direction the program is heading. However, there are several promising things taking place. Honestly, I don’t really expect an increase in wins this season over last season. That being said, I do expect improvement in the quality of play on the field. The overall schedule for 2022 is not favorable for the Illini and immediate success. However, the progress in the recruiting is promising. I think a realistic expectation for the 2022 season would be 5 – 7.
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This article was written by Michael Terril