Illinois football head coach Bret Bielema was full of confidence ahead of a major clash against Ohio State. The Big Ten champion coach knows his team cannot afford to dwell on mistakes if it wants to pull off a major upset against No. 7 Ohio.
The Fighting Illini open Big Ten play Saturday at Ohio Stadium as heavy underdogs. Bielema believes the game will come down to how well his players handle each individual matchup instead of trying to win every snap.
“Well, I think that's kind of been our motto all week. Offense, defense, special teams—it's about the matchup, right? We're playing Ohio State, but every kid has a matchup, and how they handle that play obviously has a huge effect. But we've got to leave that one behind us and move forward. If it's a good play, we obviously ride momentum, but we've got to leave the ones that aren't good.”
Article Continues BelowHow can @IlliniFootball get it done against No. 7 Ohio State?@JennyTaft caught up with HC Bret Bielema ahead of the Big Noon Saturday matchup pic.twitter.com/Whflqw3vF8
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The Fighting Illini will need the same approach, especially for quarterback Katin Houser, who will face one of the toughest road environments in college football. Houser has already played at Ohio State during his time at Michigan State and brings experience from his time at East Carolina as well.
Additionally, Bielema believes that experience should help Houser handle the noise and pressure in Columbus.
“On the road, obviously in a hostile environment, quarterback is about communication,” Bielema added. “So super excited to see him in this moment. The one thing before he came to us: he's played a lot of football, he's been through some adversity, and I think he learned more through adversity than success.”
Illinois will have to execute in all three phases and make the most of its chances against an Ohio State team with more depth and talent.