Tag: Bret Bielema

Bret Bielema doing something at Illinois he never did at Arkansas

It might be a tough pill to swallow for Arkansas faithful, but Bret Bielema has things rolling in Illinois.

It’s probably a good thing Illinois is a ways away from Arkansas. Because it’s hard to predict the reaction of the Razorbacks’ fan base when they hear: Bret Bielema is a dynamite coach.

The former Razorbacks head man had three modest seasons at Arkansas, but bookend years of 3-9 (0-8) and 4-8 (1-7) in the SEC left him five games below .500 and 11-29 in the SEC during his five seasons. During his last season in Fayetteville in 2017, Arkansas as an athletic department underwent one of the ugliest seasons and transitions in years.

Now in his second season at Illinois, Bielema is doing something he never did with the Razorbacks. The Fighting Illini beat Minnesota, 26-14, on Saturday to move to 6-1 and become bowl-eligible. The best Arkansas ever started through seven games under Bielema was 5-2.

Arkansas, meanwhile, is on its second coach since Bielema’s exit. Sam Pittman, in his third season, is 4-3 after Saturday’s 52-37 win against BYU. Pittman, who served as offensive line coach for Bielema for a bulk of the Illini coach’s stint at Arkansas, made a point to observe his team was 4-3 last season, too, through seven games and finished with nine wins.

Illinois, meanwhile, hasn’t had more than six wins since 2011. And like Alex Collins at Arkansas, Bielema has a borderline Heisman Trophy-like running back in Chase Brown, who is the only rusher in FBS with more 1,000 yards. The Hogs have Rocket Sanders and his 870 yards, third in FBS.

The point? The similarities are everywhere. Count us in for a bowl meeting between Pittman and Bielema.

[listicle id=13785]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fc3h383th881vsf1 player_id=none image=https://razorbackswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Gallery: Iowa Hawkeyes stumble at Illinois for the first time since 2008

For the first time since 2008, Iowa lost at Illinois. Here’s a look at the upsetting night that was through this photo gallery.

Iowa had every opportunity to turn it into an ugly win. Instead, Illinois snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Hawkeyes and won with backup quarterback Artur Sitkowski taking the majority of the night’s snaps for the Fighting Illini, 9-6.

Afterwards, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was singing Illinois’ praises.

“I’ll just say like every season’s a new season. Every team’s a new team and these guys have a good football team. So, and we knew that coming in. We knew that. Got a lot of respect for them and so it’s a loss. It’s a tough loss,” Ferentz said.

There’s plenty of questions for the Hawkeyes to sort out during their bye week as they gear up for a road trip on Oct. 22 to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.

In the meantime, here’s a look back at the frustrating night that was against the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Everything Kirk Ferentz said after the Iowa Hawkeyes disappointed again in 9-6 loss at Illinois

Here’s everything Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said after the Hawkeyes’ frustrating 9-6 loss at Illinois.

It’s disappointing times for Iowa Hawkeyes fans at the midway point of the season. Iowa (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) fell at Illinois (5-1, 2-1), snapping the Hawkeyes’ eight-game winning streak over the Illini in an embarrassing 9-6 loss.

Needless to say, the Hawkeye faithful on social media was less than pleased with the performance. At the midway point of the season, it’s already Iowa’s second game without an offensive touchdown and it’s the fourth game with one or fewer offensive touchdowns.

Really, that number might as well be five games with one or fewer offensive touchdowns, too, because the second touchdown against Michigan came with the game out of reach and the Wolverines seemingly content to let the clock wind.

At any rate, it was another offensive showing to forget about. Afterwards, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz discussed the loss and what’s ahead for the Hawkeyes entering the bye week.

Everything Kirk Ferentz said ahead of Iowa-Illinois

Here is everything Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said while previewing the Hawkeyes’ matchup at Illinois with the media.

Iowa travels to Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini come Saturday night in prime time at 6:30 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network. After a tough home loss versus No. 4 Michigan, the Hawkeyes are hoping to get back into the winner’s column.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz broke Bret Bielema’s Illinois Fighting Illini and touched on a number of topics in his weekly press conference. Here was everything Ferentz had to say ahead of the road battle against the Fighting Illini.

College Wire’s Big Ten top performers in Week 5

The Big Ten editorial team for the College Wires voted on their top performers in Week 5.

In Week 5 all 14 teams in the Big Ten were in action. There were several close contests and several blowouts. The Ohio State Buckeyes blasted Rutgers 49-10, while Bret Bielema took it to his former team Wisconsin. The Fighting Illini’s 34-10 win over the Badgers sent the Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst packing.

The Michigan Wolverines and Penn State Nittany Lions joined the Buckeyes as they kept their perfect season intact. Each team has started the season 5-0 and 2-0 in conference play. It will be quite the race in the Big Ten East, while the West has six teams tied at 1-1 in conference play. Wisconsin is in the cellar with two conference losses.

With a new week of games comes the final look back at Week 5 with the top conference performers of the week voted on by our Big Ten site editors.

The Voters:

Without further ado, let’s dive into the selections made by our editorial team

Week 6 preview: Iowa Hawkeyes versus Illinois Fighting Illini discussion with Illinois Rivals insider

Week 6 sees the Iowa Hawkeyes take on the Illinois Fighting Illini. Some Illini insight from a discussion with an Illini insider at Rivals.

As the Iowa Hawkeyes get ready to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT, the game appears to be shaping up as an old-fashioned Big Ten slug fest.

To get up-to-speed on the upstart Illini who are surprising some with their rebuild, an insider from Rivals provided insight to some key items regarding the Illini.

The insider is one I have known for nearly a decade, was my college roommate, college football teammate, and one that is still a friend although providing he is coverage for the Illini.

The Illini insider is Jonah Puls. Find him on Twitter (@JP_UIRivals) for all things Illinois. From football, to basketball, to even their highly-ranked golf team.

We discuss the Illini’s accelerated rebuild, a few players that could influence this matchup, dive into some advantages that each team has, and get into some predictions on who takes this Big Ten West matchup.

PHOTOS: Wisconsin falls at home to Illinois 34-10

Below are photos from Wisconsin football’s disappointing 34-10 loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini:

On Saturday afternoon, the Wisconsin Badgers fell to the Illinois Fighting in a disappointing 34-10 loss at home.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini game recap: Everything we know

The Bret Bielema-led Illini played oppressive defense and special teams against the Badgers and were able to force three total turnovers. These turnovers proved crucial to their victory, leading to 17 of their points. Wisconsin also only finished with two rushing yards on the day.

The Badgers’ defense couldn’t contain Illinois’ backfield of QB Tommy Devito and RB Chase Brown, who combined for four total touchdowns on the ground. Brown finished the game with 129 rushing yards including a 49-yard rushing touchdown.

The Badgers will try to get back in the win column next week as they head on the road to Evanston, Ill., to face the 1-4 Northwestern Wildcats.

Below are photos from Wisconsin football’s disappointing 34-10 loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini:

Big Ten hot seat rankings: CBS Sports evaluates head coaches’ futures in the conference

Scott Frost’s seat is scorching hot at Nebraska. How does CBS Sports rate every other Big Ten head coach’s hot seat situation?

There’s already been plenty of Big Ten offseason fodder out there. On3 recently released its Big Ten power rankings, CBS Sports ranked every Big Ten head coach, and ESPN updated its Football Power Index rankings of every team in the conference.

Iowa was ranked No. 37 nationally according to ESPN’s FPI and the computer simulations projected the Hawkeyes’ complete 2022 season game-by-game results as well. According to ESPN’s game-by-game FPI simulations, Hawkeye fans can expect Iowa to finish 7-5 in the 2022 season.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly penned up a full Big Ten West breakdown and there’s now odds out for the 2022 season as well. According to Tipico Sportsbook, Iowa is tied for the sixth-best odds to win the 2022 Big Ten championship. Tipico set the Hawkeyes’ win total at 7.5 entering this upcoming season as well.

Needless to say, there’s plenty out there to consume and dissect before the season kicks off in earnest for Iowa against South Dakota State on Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. from inside Kinnick Stadium.

CBS Sports just released one of its most fascinating pieces entering each college football season, though. Dennis Dodd revealed the 2022 college football hot seat rankings.

CBS assigns ratings of 0 to 5 to describe a current head coach’s current situation. The number ratings work out like this:

  • 5 – “Win or be fired”
  • 4 – “Start improving now”
  • 3 – “Pressure is mounting”
  • 2 – “All good…for now”
  • 1 – “Safe and secure”
  • 0 – “Untouchable”

Let’s take a look at where each Big Ten head coach finds themselves according to CBS Sports entering 2022.

CBS Sports ranks every Big Ten head football coach entering 2022

Where does every Big Ten coach rank entering the 2022 college football season per CBS Sports?

There’s some really good head football coaches in the Big Ten. That makes it difficult to ascend up a list, easier to go tumbling down in the rankings and certainly a feat to remain ranked toward the top of the list of college football’s head coaches.

CBS Sports took on the task of ranking each of the Power Five’s head football coaches. Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz checked in as the No. 13 coach nationally in that ranking from CBS.

What about everyone else in the Big Ten? Where do Ohio State‘s Ryan Day and Michigan‘s Jim Harbaugh slot in? How about Michigan State‘s Mel Tucker and Penn State‘s James Franklin?

Both P.J. Fleck at Minnesota and Paul Chryst at Wisconsin have done nice things in their tenures at those two programs. Where are they in the national pecking order? Can anybody make an argument still for Scott Frost at Nebraska?

Before revealing the full rankings below, here’s what CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli had to say about the league’s coaches.

The Big Ten is all about depth. After all, it’s called the Big Ten but currently boasts 14 schools and will soon have 16 (and maybe more!) before you know it. That depth is certainly reflected in how we at CBS Sports ranked its coaches.

In our overall Power Five coach rankings, published earlier this offseason, nobody from the Big Ten cracked the top five spots. However, while the conference lacks a top-five presence, it has five coaches ranked in the top 15, eight in the top 25 and 12 of the top 40. It’s a testament to the conference’s tradition as well as overall spending power. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.

While the Big Ten might not have that top-five presence, that could certainly change quickly after the 2022 season and the fact that 12 of the top 40 coaches reside in the league is a testament to the conference’s coaching depth.

Let’s take a look at where every Big Ten coach ranks according to CBS.

‘Definition of overachieving’: Big Ten coaches sound off on the 2022 Iowa Hawkeyes anonymously

In Athlon Sports’ 2022 season preview, Big Ten coaches were asked to anonymously scout the Iowa Hawkeyes. Here’s everything they had to say.

Sure, the preseason All-American and All-Big Ten lists give fans a great indication of the type of talent each roster has heading into any given season. Those are great media fodder when comparing teams’ rosters, too.

Still, one of my favorite pieces of each offseason is getting a look into what the coaches have to say anonymously about each program. Athlon Sports’ annual magazine delivers on that front each and every offseason and 2022 is no different.

Regardless of where you might rank them, the Big Ten has a collection of some of the finest coaches in all of college football. Iowa just so happens to have arguably the best head coach of anybody in the Big Ten. When those coaches and their assistants break down how they view a program, it’s some pretty fascinating stuff.

Once again, Athlon Sports tasked the Big Ten’s coaches with providing an anonymous breakdown of the Iowa Hawkeyes heading into the 2022 college football season. Here’s everything they had to say about Iowa.