Illinois coach Bret Bielema has 'ultimate respect' for Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
The Illinois Fighting Illini have exceeded expectations under second-year head coach Bret Bielema this season. At one point, they won six-straight tilts, but they now are on a two-game losing skid. They’re 18-point underdogs against Michigan Wolverines football at The Big House this weekend.
The Illini may not have star running back Chase Brown, who suffered a right leg injury in the final minutes of last week’s 31-24 loss to Purdue. He couldn’t put any weight on his injured leg and was helped back to the sideline. His status for this weekend’s game at Michigan (noon ET on ABC) is in question.
However, Bielema said Brown and fellow running back Josh McCray, who’s played in just three games this year, most recently Nov. 5 versus Michigan State, are “trending in the right direction.”
“Very positive and excited, but don’t know where we’ll be by Friday for the trip and Saturday for the game,” Bielema said.
Brown is leading the nation with 1,442 rushing yards, while adding 7 rushing touchdowns.
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Bielema said it was the second week in a row in which his team is in a “somber mood” following losses, but the Illini are looking to regroup. They don’t control their own destiny in the Big Ten West, but a win over Michigan would keep their hopes alive.
“To get a chance to go play Michigan at Michigan, there’s literally nobody on our roster who [has] played there through normal means,” Bielema said. “The only two guys who have played so far at Michigan on our roster … are [backup quarterback] Art Sitkowski, who played when he was at Rutgers, and obviously Chase, who played while he was at Western Michigan. Nobody [else] on our current roster.
“I told them I’ve been able to experience a win as a player and a coach at Michigan Stadium and what that meant and how it felt. That’s something our guys are excited about the opportunity ahead of us.”
Illinois is 2-1 on the road this season with wins over Wisconsin (34-10) and Nebraska (26-9) and a loss to Indiana (23-20). The Illini picked up a road victory at Penn State in 2021, winning 20-18 in nine overtimes, and Bielema believes that experience in front of a raucous crowd will help his returning players this weekend at Michigan.
“There are a lot of guys on our team who have played at Penn State,” Bielema explained. “It’s similar in nature, 110,000 or whatever the number ends up being on Saturday. It will be a cooler environment, so the fact that we played in that last week is a positive thing. We’ll play in it and practice in it this week.
“Our guys kind of embrace the moment to go into somebody else’s place and live in that moment. I pointed out to them we have a 74-man travel roster that will match their 74-man hotel roster. We play on the same field. We share the same tunnel, as I’m sure everybody has heard. We have a lot of the same things. It’s just about who lines up and plays well on Saturday.”
Bret Bielema impressed with Michigan coaching, personnel
Michigan is the No. 3 team in the country and controls its own destiny in the Big Ten East and nationally. The Maize and Blue are 10-0 for the first time since 2006 and pose a huge challenge to Illinois on each side of the ball.
Bielema sees a physical Michigan offense that starts up front with the offensive line.
“Offensively, I always think when you have three areas you have to defend, it’s a hard deal. They have an offensive line that is very talented, big, long, athletic, and moves extremely well.
“Behind them is a running back [in junior Blake Corum] that I think can be as good as anybody in the country — strong, powerful, has the ability to run through you, has the ability to run around you, has some shiftiness to him. On top of that, you have a quarterback [in sophomore J.J. McCarthy] who is being coached by a great player in his own right.
“I know [Michigan head coach] Jim [Harbaugh] obviously touches the program in many ways, but he’s a quarterback guy and that quarterback plays at a high level. He’s got an extreme live arm. They have two or three answers on the perimeter and a good tight end.
“That’s a very tall task to defend, but I think our guys are aware of it. They’ll have to win their moments. I told our guys early on, ‘I don’t need any NFL All-Pro players showing up for me on Saturday. I just need the best version of you.’”
Michigan ranks first nationally in scoring, total and rushing defense, and fourth in passing defense. Five of the last six opponents have failed to gain 100 yards rushing — Illinois averages 183.6 rushing yards on 44.5 carries per game — and the Wolverines have allowed just 3 points in the second halves of their last five clashes.
“Defensively they’ve got some edge players who are very, very unique,” Bielema said. “They have great versatility. I think their coaches use them very, very well. They have some good back-end players. They have a couple dominant inside players. Their special teams are very accurate in what they do.”
Known for having physical teams during his time at Wisconsin, Bielema has reverence for Michigan’s brand of football that is similar to how his teams play.
“Jim is a very good football coach. This is kind of cool for me to compete against him because I haven’t had this opportunity,” Bielema said. “I have the ultimate respect for him and Michigan and what they do. He’s got a lot of good, young coaches around him as well. That’s fun to watch them have the interactions they are [having].
“Just a really fun weekend to be involved with. I couldn’t ask for anything I’d rather be doing than going to Michigan at 11 o’clock [central time] on Saturday. I don’t know a lot of people who would say that, but I sure as shit believe it.”
