Bret Bielema didn’t dance around the formula on Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. If Illinois is going to keep climbing, he said, the Illini have to get tougher away from home.
“A big point of mine is to win on the road. I went back and looked during my window over the last five years, and it has gotten better and better each year.”
That was the message Bielema wanted to sell, even if the road numbers don’t really back up the idea of a steady rise. Illinois has gone 2-3 on the road in 2021, then 3-2, 2-3, 2-2, and 2-3 over the next four seasons. The pattern has been uneven, and Bielema knows it.
“For us to win, and win at a high level, you are going to have to win Big Ten games on the road.”
That’s the part that keeps coming back for Illinois. The program has been so close to breaking through the last two seasons, and the road has been where those chances slipped away. The Illini have won 19 games combined over the last two years, but the margin for a true playoff push has been razor thin.
The clearest example came in 2024, when Illinois finished 9-3 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten. Two road games stood out as the kind that could have changed the entire conversation: No.
9 Penn State and No. 1 Oregon.
Win either one, and Illinois is in the CFP.
Bielema sees the bigger picture, even if the details still sting.
“Contend is a great word, but championships are what people remember. To get in those conversations, to do it more consistently, you have to have a lot of great things going for you.
We have pieces of the puzzle, but we have a game or two each year that has knocked us out of the playoff. Most of those have been on the road.”
At home, Illinois has given itself a much better foundation. The Illini have gone 6-1 at home over the last two years, and Bielema pointed to that as proof the program is doing its job in Champaign.
“We have been 6-1 the last two years at home, so we have been doing our business there. But each year, we have one of those games that snaps up and gets us, and we have to avoid those games.”
The good news for Illinois is that 2026 sets up with a chance to ease some of the road pressure. The Illini won’t play a single non-conference road game, with UAB, Duke, and Southern Illinois all coming to Champaign.
The first road test in the league will still be a heavy one, though, with Ohio State coming to town first. After that, the path looks more manageable. Illinois’ road slate includes Michigan State, Maryland, UCLA, and Northwestern.
Bielema has not solved the road problem yet, but the schedule gives him a chance to change the story in 2026. And if Illinois is going to make the leap into the College Football Playoff picture, that’s the secret recipe he keeps coming back to.
In Other News...
Brad Underwood Just Raised An Early Concern For Illinois Basketball
Illinois basketball spent part of its latest news cycle on a sponsorship announcement, with Brad Underwood introducing Busey Bank as the prime sponsor for the programs uniforms. It was the kind of off-court update that usually passes quickly, but Underwood also used the moment to touch on a basketball issue that matters much more once the season starts getting real.
The concern centers on Stefan Vaaks, who has been away with Estonias national team during FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and now has some catching up to do in summer preparation. For a program that already sees Vaaks and Quentin Coleman as potential first-round NBA draft talents in 2027, getting everyone aligned early matters, and Underwoods comments made clear that Vaaks ramp-up is one of the first things Illinois will be watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Bret Bielema Has Changed What Illinois Football Fans Should Expect
When Bret Bielema arrived in Champaign in December 2020, the standard for Illinois football was still being reset. Four years later, the Illini have done something the program had never done before, stacking nine-win seasons in consecutive years and forcing everyone around the program to think differently about what a good season looks like now.
Bielema has also been quick to point out that Illinois has held its own in the Big Ten over the last two seasons, sitting fourth in several key measures behind only Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State. The next question is whether the Illini can keep that level of play intact as the roster turns over, the recruiting push continues and the conference keeps getting harder to navigate. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Is Suddenly The Big Ten Standard Illinois Has To Chase
Indiana has gone from a program that used to chase the Big Tens upper tier to one that now sets the pace, and Curt Cignetti is a big reason why. The preseason chatter around the league may still lean toward Ohio State or Oregon in some corners, but the latest coach-of-the-year discussion has the Hoosiers sitting in a very different place, with Cignetti drawing the kind of respect that usually follows sustained winning and a roster built to stay there.
For Illinois, that makes Indiana less of a one-off challenge and more of the standard. The Hoosiers are coming off a national title, have barely stumbled in league play under Cignetti, and face a schedule that will test whether this rise is a flash or the new normal. If the Illini want to measure themselves against the conferences best, Indiana is the team they have to keep in view every week. [Read more 🡒]