Brad Underwood has clearly earned the respect of his Big Ten peers.
That much was obvious at Big Ten Media Days, where Illinois kept coming up as one of the league’s biggest talking points. The Illini are fresh off a Final Four run and bring back almost the entire roster, which has pushed them into the conversation as the Big Ten’s top team and a legitimate championship threat. Coaches around the conference know it, and they were willing to say so.
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo was first up when the discussion turned to Underwood and the job he has done in Champaign. One thing Izzo singled out was Underwood staying put at Illinois, even through stretches when coaches around the program came and went. Izzo also made it clear he views Underwood as one of the toughest men on the sideline.
"He’s a tough SOB, and he’s demanding. I get ridiculed for how I am.
But I’m a choir boy compared to him," Izzo said. "I love Brad.
He’s done a great job."
Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg had similar praise, and he leaned just as hard into what Illinois brings on the floor. Hoiberg, who guided Nebraska to its first-ever Sweet Sixteen last season, said the Huskers know exactly what kind of challenge awaits when they draw the Illini.
"If you don’t bring your hard hat against a Brad Underwood team, you’re gonna get embarrassed," Hoiberg said.
The respect is easy to understand. Underwood has spent nine seasons at Illinois, and it hasn’t been a straight line to this point.
But he finally got the program back to the Final Four for the first time since 2005, and he did it without leaning on the kind of elite recruiting hauls that usually define that level of success. Now Illinois has more talent in the mix, and the result is a team built to chase even more than a return trip.
Izzo and Hoiberg both framed it plainly: Underwood is no joke, and Illinois is in strong hands.
In Other News...
Illinois Suddenly Has A New Quarterback Story After Wild Michigan State Win
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Claytons performance gave Illinois a different look in a high-pressure spot, and it now adds another layer to the teams quarterback conversation as the season moves on. The finish itself had no shortage of drama, either, with Xavier Scott ending Michigan States final chance to pull it out and preserving a victory that may carry more significance than just one more win. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Suddenly Has A New Reason For Hope After Surviving Michigan State
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For a team still carrying real questions on defense and some unevenness in the play-calling, the bigger takeaway may have been how the offense kept functioning when the plan changed on the fly. The offensive line also did its part, giving Illinois enough stability up front to survive the chaos, and now the intriguing part is whether Claytons showing changes the conversation around the quarterback situation moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Bye Week Puts Bret Bielema's Bowl Hopes Under Pressure
Illinois enters its bye week at 3-3, a respectable place on paper but a precarious one when the rest of the schedule is laid out in front of it. A hard-fought overtime win over Michigan State offered some momentum, yet the margin for error is gone with six regular-season games still to play and little room to stumble against the kind of lineup that awaits after the break.
FanDuel odds have the Illini projected to land at four wins or fewer, which makes the path to bowl eligibility feel anything but routine. To get there, Illinois likely needs at least two more victories from a stretch that includes Oregon, Maryland, Nebraska, UCLA, Iowa and Northwestern, a run that will tell the story of Bret Bielemas team long before the season reaches November. [Read more 🡒]