By Luke Mullin Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star
It’s already been a year to remember for the
Illinois football team.
The current leaders in the Big Ten West,
Illinois is scheduled to roll into Nebraska's Memorial Stadium on Saturday with a 6-1 record and a No. 17 national ranking — the program’s best since 2011. It’s been a long time coming for Illinois fans considering the program hasn’t had a winning season since that year.
But, the success of this year’s Illinois team isn’t the result of a five- or 10-year rebuild — it’s the result of a coach who knows how to win in the Big Ten.
Having spent eight seasons with Iowa, nine seasons with Wisconsin and now two years at Illinois, head coach
Bret Bielema has followed a Big Ten blueprint to build tough, winning football teams at each stop.
At Wisconsin, that meant a high-powered rushing attack that ran behind a punishing offensive line and a 4-3 defensive scheme that aimed to eliminate opponents’ hopes of doing the same. The Badgers finished with a top-15 rushing offense four seasons in a row under Bielema from 2009-12.
In his seven seasons atop the Wisconsin program, Bielema used that formula to win three conference titles and compile a record of 68-24.