Winning on the road in the Big Ten is never easy, but the Illinois football team was able to take Purdue down in West Lafayette on Saturday.
This wasn’t an easy win for the Illini by any means. Purdue led by a touchdown after the first quarter. The Illini then hit the gas and scored 27 points in the second quarter to gain control of the game.
Illinois ended up winning the contest 43-27, and while it was a victory, not everything was sunshine and rainbows. Bret Bielema mentioned the good and bad in his postgame press conference.
Here are five interesting Bret Bielema quotes from the Illinois football presser vs Purdue Boilermakers
- “I think we are at a point, we are a team, that maybe if we don’t play our best, we can still get a 16-point game on the road against Purdue. We have made progress.”
This quote from Bielema sums up the Purdue game perfectly. This wasn’t a good game by the Illini. Even though there were some big performances, I would grade the Illini at a C+.
Illinois is at a point where we can play non-A games and still come away with the victory. This team has the bad moments, but the good moments can make up for the mistakes.
- “Josh (Kreutz) got rolled up on last week…Josh really never practiced until yesterday. The way it looked yesterday, we didn’t think today would be an option.”
The presence of Josh Kreutz was missed on Saturday. Bielema touched on what is going on with our center in the press conference.
It sounds like he was close to going on Saturday. While TJ McMillen filled in for Kreutz, there seems to be a chance he suits up for the Ohio State game. We are going to need him in a big way.
- “We train for this moment 365 days a year, we aren’t going to do anything different this week. I don’t need anyone to take super-human vitamins.”
Bielema always stresses doing your job. Don’t try to be a hero. You know your role, and do that role to the best of your ability.
That is what he is essentially saying in this quote from the press conference. Bielema is talking about the game against Ohio State on Saturday. Just do your job, know your role, play your best, and let the chips fall where they may.
- “I told him in pregame warm-ups…I grabbed Ca’Lil and said, career day today, right? I could see it coming. I could see the way he’s playing. I could see the way they were playing. I thought this could be a game he could fit into.”
This is a pretty cool moment. Bielema called his shot with Ca’Lil Valentine pregame. Bielema said in the press conference that he could see a career day coming from Valentine.
Sure enough, Valentine went for 95 yards and a touchdown. He was the only thing Illinois had going on the ground, and without him running the football, the passing game wouldn’t be nearly as effective.
- “We travel with 74 guys…those 74 guys all have a role. It may be one play, on one unit the whole day. And whenever that is, I ask them to be at their best.”
To those who haven’t watched Illinois play, this quote sounds like coach-speak. It sounds like Bielema is just saying something generic.
That isn’t the case, though. These words couldn’t be truer. Andre Lovett has been huge for Illinois for a play or two every week on special teams. Ashton Hollins had a big reception for the Illini this week, and he had a big play on special teams. It just takes one play to turn the momentum or a game around. Each player who suits up matters for the Illini.