Illini's Bret Bielema Has Seen Enough NFL Talent In Openers To Avoid Overconfidence

Jul 23, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema speaks to the media during the Big 10 football media day at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports | Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

The reality is this: the Illinois Fighting Illini should win Thursday's opener against Eastern Illinois.

Just don't expect coach Bret Bielema to take it lightly.

"Early games, you can take records, level, divisions, everything out," Bielema said. 

He has reason to feel that way because he's coached against his share of NFL talent in these games. He spoke of two of them during Tuesday's media availability.

The first was when he was an assistant at Iowa in 2001. The Hawkeyes played against Miami of Ohio, which was led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He went on to a strong career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning two Super Bowls.

"When I was a young linebackers coach at Iowa, we talked about knocking out the quarterback because they had this freshman by the name of Roethlisberger who was like 6-4, 250. We're like, `We're gonna get this guy in the game. He proceeded to get in the game and do what we did." 

The other notable one was playing Eastern Illinois in 2002. It was led future Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo.

"I remember we had the No. 1 defense at the end of the year when I was at Kansas State," Bielema said. "But at the beginning of the year we played this team called Eastern Illinois who had a guy by the name of Tony Romo who went out and chucked it all around the field. He had that moment." 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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