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Illinois Football: Bret Bielema makes guest appearance on Jim Rome show

By Zain Bando

Aug 28, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; 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
Aug 28, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; 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 /
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Illinois football head coach, Bret Bielema, appeared on Jim Rome’s syndicated radio show.

Bielema earned his first win as the Illini head coach on August 28. A 30-22 victory against Nebraska put Illinois back in a fresh start and new phase. Bielema went on a bit of a media tour to promote the win and newfound success, as he appeared on the Jim Rome Show on August 30.

Bielema gave his group high praise after the win, as he is adapting to a change in the culture of the program and more.

The podcast can be seen on Vimeo in its entirely, as Bielema touched on a variety of topics about his new team and his return to the college football scene.

"“Well, I think it’s just about being honest, open, and real, right?” Bielema said. “Today’s kids, everybody thinks they’re different. I think they’re the exact same when I grew up, when you grew up. Alright, we all gravitate to people that we trust, right? I think that if you’re genuine and you’re real, like I tell every kid that we recruited the same thing when I got here, right? I’m not trying to be your dad, your uncle, your brother, your cousin, I’m trying to be your head football coach. I’m going to try to get you to a point where if someday, you look around and you look to your left, right, front, and back and say ‘how the hell did I get here, right? This is pretty awesome. And to get them to go to a place where they’ve never been, without them even knowing they’re on a journey, is truly the most rewarding thing for a football coach to do.”"

Bielema has Big Ten experience from his days at Wisconsin and is trying to translate the same success while in Champaign.

Illinois football looks to re-group in Week 2

The Illini suffered a heartbreaking loss against UTSA Saturday night, as a last-minute drive fell just short of forcing overtime, 37-30.

The Orange and Blue will look to regroup on September 11 when they travel to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers in the first road game of the season.

Next. Illinois Football: 4 observations from the Illini loss to UTSA. dark

Can Bielema and Company bounce back? Only time will tell, but week two already feels like a must-win game.

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