Saturday’s contest between the Wisconsin Badgers and Illinois Fighting Illini will not be short of storylines.
Employed by Illinois are former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema and program great Jim Leonhard, the Illini crushed the Badgers last season which led to Wisconsin firing Paul Chryst and Luke Fickell’s team is fresh off a demoralizing loss to Iowa.
Last year’s meeting between these two teams came with a massive media firestorm surrounding Bielema’s first return to Madison after leaving the program to take the Arkansas job in 2013. That story was quickly cast aside as the game played out, as the Badgers suffered a program-changing loss.
Well, here we are with a new-look Wisconsin program again preparing to face a Bielema Illinois team. Here is what the current Illini head coach had to say about his time at Wisconsin and facing them again on the field:
Bret Bielema and @IlliniFootball host Wisconsin on Saturday.
The third-year Illini coach talks about facing the program he led from 2006-12. ⤵️ #B1Gtoday pic.twitter.com/mVPSNv13YC
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 17, 2023