Three stats that will decide Wisconsin vs. Illinois on Saturday
Wisconsin has a golden opportunity to gain positive momentum on Saturday when they visit old friend Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini.
I know it sounds crazy to say, but if Penn State goes on the road and beats Iowa this weekend, Wisconsin will still have a chance to win out and win the Big Ten West. That’s getting away ahead but with a win on Saturday, the season is not over by any means.
Wisconsin enters the contest with a distinct advantage at many positions. The defense has performed like one of the nation’s best, the Badger backfield is set up for more success and Illinois presents a great matchup for Graham Mertz to continue his positive momentum.
For Wisconsin to win the game, these three stats will need to finish in its favor:
Wisconsin football: 2021 Illinois Fighting Illini team preview
The Wisconsin Badgers are set for a showdown with old friend Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday.
Bielema’s team sits at 2-4 through six games this season, that including tough losses against UTSA and Virginia and an impressive Week 0 win over Nebraska. It sounds crazy to say, but Illinois enters this Week 6 game ahead of Wisconsin in the Big Ten West standings.
But the early gauntlet of games is now over for the Badgers. They face Illinois this weekend, host Army on October 16 and proceed through the rest of the Big Ten schedule with only one ranked game on the horizon—October 30 vs. Iowa.
For what to watch and what to expect from Illinois on Saturday, though, here is a complete 2021 Fighting Illini team preview:
Everything Illinois HC Bret Bielema said about Wisconsin on Monday
Wisconsin will take the field against old friend Bret Bielema on Saturday as he continues his first year as head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini.
The biggest story entering the contest any other year would be the head coaching matchup of old colleagues. This season, though, Wisconsin’s 1-3 start has been the focus as the team needs to turn things around quickly if it wants any shot at competing in the Big Ten Championship.
Nevertheless, a lot is still being made this week of the on-field reunion and Bielema’s time at Wisconsin. One thing the Illinois head coach repeated during his game-week press conference, though, is how his time with the Badgers has nothing to do with his preparation for Saturday’s game.
Here is everything the Illinois head coach said about Wisconsin this week:
Although the Badgers were no longer in the poll, several other Big Ten schools moved up in the latest Coaches Poll after having huge wins. Iowa was able to shut down the talented Maryland Terrapins, while Ohio State convincingly stopped Rutgers. The Ohio State win, along with Michigan’s blowout victory against the Badgers, has now made allowed four Big Ten teams to be ranked in the top 10.
The USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll top 10 for this week is Alabama(1), Georgia(2), Iowa(3), Penn State(4), Oklahoma(5), Cincinnati(6), Ohio State(7), Michigan(8), Oregon(9) and Brigham Young(10).
Wisconsin will face off next against former Badgers’ head coach Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 2:30 p.m CDT.
Below are the Big Ten teams represented in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:
One of the biggest criticisms that tend to be hurled in the direction of Penn State head coach James Franklin tends to target his in-game decision-making. And, to a degree, that is justifiable on more than one occasion during the course of a full regular season. But one thing Penn state has typically been pretty good at under Franklin and his mixture of coaching staff members over the years is the Nittany Lions have a knack for making some in-game adjustments.
One game into the 2021 college football season, Nebraska head coach Scott Frost admitted he was unable to find a way to do that.
Nebraska’s biggest reason for defeat was being unable to adjust to what they were seeing on the field against a program that has won more than four games in a season just once since 2016. Making matters worse, it comes across as though Frost just gave up on what Nebraska was trying to do entirely.
Frost on the offense at Illinois:
"About half of our game plan was out the window when they lined up how they did."
For a coach who is already being placed under heavy scrutiny with an 0-1 start to the season before the calendar even flips to September, admitting you were outfoxed by a division rival is either refreshingly honest or incredibly foolish to admit. Perhaps it is a bit of both. Either way, Frost has a lot of work to do at Nebraska, because it has quickly become an exponentially challenging task just to get to five wins, let alone six wins.
Penn State will not face Nebraska this season, but the Huskers were among the teams to hand Penn state a loss at the start of their infamous 0-5 start to the 2020 season. At the time, Franklin made the call to go with a different starting quarterback, opting for Will Levis over a struggling Sean Clifford at the time. It was a decision that needed to be made, but the game against the Huskers was yet another game where the Nittany Lions dug too big a hole to climb out of.
Penn State will face Bret Bielema and the Illini though. And Penn State fans may be familiar with the battles against Bielema and the Badgers. Credit to Bielema where it is due, he knew how to take advantage of the rulebook at times, showing he could outcoach Joe Paterno and other coaches around the Big Ten.
We’ll see if James Franklin can avoid getting duped into a battle of wits with Bielema the way Frost did.
Around the B1G: Bret Bielema returns with a win and it’s going to be another long year for Nebraska
The return of Bret Bielema to the Big Ten has been one that has fascinated this particular Big Ten observer all offseason. The former Wisconsin head coach returned to the conference this year as the head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini to give us all a glimpse at whether or not Bielema could still manufacture wins in the Big Ten the way he once did with the Badgers. Well, it’s only been one game, but he did just that on Saturday.
And not to say “I told you so,” but I did feel validated in my pregame predictions in this one. Perhaps it was too easy to go against Nebraska in this situation, but sometimes easy money is smart money too. (Just please pay no attention to my UConn prediction).
🏈💰 🏈💰 🏈💰 🏈💰 🏈💰
College football is back and so is Kevin’s Triple Combo of the Day! Let’s see if we can get the season started on the right foot. Picking a couple underdogs to dive right in this season.
Illinois dropped Nebraska in a Week 0 Big Ten opener 30-22. The Illini rattled off 28 consecutive points to turn a 9-2 deficit into a decisive 30-9 advantage between the second and third quarters, although the Huskers managed to make things interesting late in the fourth quarter. The turning point of the game may have been a 41-yard fumble return fr a touchdown by Illinois’ Calvin Hart Jr. The defensive score came in the final minute of the first half to break a 9-9 tie.
The Illini defense had a good showing with five sacks of Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez, who completed just 16 of his 32 pass attempts. Illinois also got a solid effort from backup quarterback Artur Sitkowski (a transfer from Rutgers) following a shoulder injury to starter Brandon Peters (a transfer from Michigan). Sitkowski completed 12 of 15 attempts with two touchdowns.
The win was a big one for Bielema as it gets his new era as a head coach of a program with nowhere to go but up off on the right track. There will likely be many more setbacks than celebrations for the Illini this season, but starting things off with a win is a pretty good way to get things started for Bielema.
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, left, and Nebraska head coach Scott Frost, talk before the start of Saturday’s game at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
But what about Nebraska? This is a bitter pill to swallow. Entering a season with questions of whether or not Nebraska may actually get back to a bowl game this season, starting off the year with a loss to Illinois is a terrible omen for things potentially to come. Getting to six wins for the NCAA win-minimum to go to a postseason bowl game was already going to be difficult enough this season, and that was with the expectation that Nebraska would win this matchup, where they were a touchdown favorite.
Scott Frost needed this win in a bad way. Nebraska will have a couple of games they should win the next two times out against Fordham and Buffalo, but after that is a road game at Oklahoma. And Nebraska still has to play Wisconsin and Iowa in division play and Ohio State and Michigan in crossover play.
Six wins for Nebraska just got that much more difficult in Lincoln, and Frost should be feeling a little bit more pressure than he ever has before.
Coming up in Week 1
Nebraska and Illinois will eachbe back in action this week as Nebraska hosts Fordham and Illinois plays host to UTSA, and the rest of the Big Ten will join the party this coming week. The fun gets started with a pair of Thursday night games involving three Big Ten teams. Ohio State visits Minnesota and Rutgers will be hosting Temple on Thursday evening.
The Big Ten action continues with a Friday night matchup between Northwestern and Michigan State in Evanston. Then on Saturday, Penn State steps into the national spotlight with a FOX Big Noon Kickoff against Wisconsin, arguably the game of the week in the Big Ten. We’ll have coverage of this game all week long, of course, as we head into our first season of football coverage on Nittany Lions Wire.
Elsewhere, the Michigan Wolverines begin a season potentially flying under the radar when they host Western Michigan for a noon kickoff. Iowa will be hosting Indiana in another solid game to keep an eye on. Maryland also has a fun matchup with West Virginia to observe and Purdue will open its season at home against Oregon State.
With a handful of more Big Ten contests on tap, the Week 1 schedule for the Big Ten should provide a good amount of drama and intrigue as the season gets off to a full start.
Let’s pretend the College Football Playoff committee has to publish rankings right now.
In November, the College Football Playoff committee will begin publishing weekly rankings of 25 teams. This is the best method of figuring out which four teams will play in the committee’s tournament, because this method means committee members get to earn hotel points by gathering each week to conclude Northwestern has more Big Number Thirteen Energy than Cincinnati does.
But why wait until November? There are airline miles up for grabs up right now! Here, let me do your job for you, based on nothing but Week 0’s five games involving FBS teams. If we like the playoff field this produces, then let’s go ahead and schedule it up.
10. New Mexico State, 0-1
Getting blown out, 30-3, at home by lowly UTEP is just grimdark. Let’s move on as quickly as possible.
9. UConn, 0-1
The Huskies are best known for not playing any college football in 2020. The year is now 2021, and they’re still not.
(They just lost to Fresno State, 45-0.)
@ESPN_BillC Ok, w/the help from our SIG folks, UConn’s LAST TD was against Temple in November of 2019.
And from this point on, it only gets rougher. The schedule includes Oklahoma, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and other teams that often beat Nebraska. Things can only continue to improve for the Huskers’ monochrome Bills of yore.
I also must note this was college football season’s opening game, and its lead-in coverage on Fox was an infomercial for a magical microwave. Perfection.
Screenshot
7. Hawaii, 0-1
Ranked ahead of Nebraska despite a 44-10 scoring deficit against UCLA. The reason is simple: body clocks. “But every Hawaii game is a body-clocks game,” says the hater. “So what?” says the teacher.
And now we reach the dividing line between FBS teams that haven’t won games and FBS teams that have won games.
Beating up on New Mexico State is not playoff-worthy behavior. We should keep this in mind when Alabama does it on November 13.
5. San Jose State, 1-0
Well, 100 percent of the Spartans’ wins this season are over FCS teams (such as Southern Utah, 45-14), so I’d prefer not to rank them in the playoff top four.
4. Fresno State, 1-0
Well, 100 percent of the Bulldogs’ wins this season are over teams that shouldbe FCS teams (such as UConn), but life’s not about what I prefer.
3. UCLA, 1-0
Chip Kelly’s veteran Bruins took care of Hawaii before a crowd of dozens.
That’s not mockery. There are better things to do in Southern California on an August afternoon … such as staying home and watching Nebraska-Illinois!
2. Illinois, 1-0
Victors in August’s GAME OF THE MONTH, a masterpiece from the chaotic opening moments onward. For a while, this was the 2021 season’s entire scoreboard:
Fox screenshot
Then it got worse, which was awesome.
Nebraska-Illinois has had the following: • Safety • Illegal forward pass on a punt return • Two missed XPs • A coach not knowing the down • A 75-yard touchdown run • A scoop and score • A snap over a QB's head • A team trying to overcome a 21-point deficit.
Emotions? Me? No thanks, I’m Midwestern. Cheez-o-pete, it’s frickin’ warm. Shoulda worn my thin cargs. Time to eat a cold deer.
1. The Fansville Hot Dog Guy has proposed to the Fansville Mustard Girl
Sorry, only three playoff spots go to football teams. What, like a sport this heavily sponsored wouldn’t give a top-four ranking to a corporate overlord?
This time, I even think college football’s official alternate reality deserves to rank way up here, actually.
I’m all in on this commercial universe’s romance storyline and hope it gets dragged out through January. Bring me all the twists and turns. I want these kids together, but I want the road to be challenging, with entire weeks that make no sense. Just like the rest of college football, you see.
How to watch every game of Week 0 of the 2021 college football season:
Although the Wisconsin Badgers will have to wait until Sept. 4 to play their season opener against the Penn State Nittany Lions, several teams will begin their season on Saturday in Week 0 of the college football season.
Big Ten West foes Nebraska and Illinois will be matching up in the first game of the season, which will feature former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema as the new coach for the Fighting Illini. This game is the only Big Ten matchup of the weekend, but several notable schools including UCLA, San Jose State and Fresno State will be hitting the field on Saturday
Here is how to watch every nationally televised Week 0 game of the 2021 college football season:
One of his first moves was making former Badger Terrance Jamison his new defensive line coach. Today he continued the trend of hiring his former players onto his staff, naming Aaron Henry the school’s new defensive backs coach.
Henry played for the Badgers from 2007-2011, starting 27 combined games in 2010 and 2011 during which he recorded 6 interceptions, 17 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries, 125 total tackles and 3.5 tackles-for-loss.
The former Badger will now reunite with his former coach at Illinois as Bielema and his staff work to get the Illini football program headed in the right direction.
Jessie Armstead, a long-time New York Giants linebacker, will reportedly coach the team’s outside linebackers in Week 15.
The New York Giants were forced to make several coaching staff changes on the fly this week after offensive coordinator Jason Garrett tested positive for COVID-19 and outside linebackers coach/senior defensive assistant Bret Bielema took the head coaching job at Illinois.
Tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens will assume the play calling duties with Garrett out, while the Giants announced inside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer and defensive assistant Jody Wright would split Bielema’s duties.
However, Jay Glazer reported on FOX NFL Sunday that Jessie Armstead, who currently serves as special assistant to the general manager, would descend from the front office in order to coach the outside linebackers in Week 15.
Armstead, an eighth-round pick of the Giants in the 1998 NFL Draft, spent nine of his 12 seasons in East Rutherford, earning five trips to the Pro Bowl and four All-Pro nods. He was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2010.
Glazer did not elaborate further on Armstead’s exact role or what it means for Sherrer or Wright, and also did not touch on whether or not Armstead would remain in that role over the final two weeks of the season.
Whatever the case may be, Giants fans are certain to love it. Not only was Armstead an intense and dominant linebacker during his playing days, he’s a long-time fan favorite.
