Bret Bielema expecting home crowd to be a factor against Michigan
Illinois Coach Bret Bielema (center) watches a play unfold during the first quarter against Penn State Saturday September 16, 2023 at Memorial Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Fighting Illini are gearing up for a pivotal Big Ten matchup at home, and their head coach wants the fans to be out in full force Saturday afternoon.
After all, the reigning Big Ten and National Champs will be invading Memorial Stadium, and they’re coming off a bye-week. Coach Bret Bielema is looking forward to squaring off against Michigan, especially after the thriller at the Big House two years ago.
Illinois suffered a two-point loss in dramatic fashion, and to this day Bielema believes his team should’ve won. Which is why the fourth-year coach is eager to return the favor to the Wolverines. Not to mention a sold out crowd will be on hand, and both teams are currently in the AP-top 25.
The Fighting Illini are playing on another level at home, and the team has won two games in overtime this season, including one in Champaign last week. In Bielema’s eyes that means his players are battle-tested, and he wants the 12th man to be a factor again.
“We haven’t lost a game out there this year, that place should be rocking, that place should be going crazy, to have two ranked teams, that’s what I want to have, and they’ve been great,” Bielema said. “Student section after the game, whenever you see that last play and the camera vibrates, that means some good stuff is happening in the stadium, and that’s a really good thing.”
Illinois (5-1) is averaging 37 points per game at home, and the players have a ton of confidence. Michigan’s defense is no slouch though. This is a matchup that will go down in the trenches, and the Wolverines are going to try and set the tone early.
However, Michigan has the worst aerial attack in the Power Four, and rely heavy on pounding the ball. Bielema knows Coach Sherrone Moore is great at drawing up plays, and should have some tricks up his sleeve. Moore will want to take the crowd out of the game by scoring early, and getting off to a fast start. Although Memorial Stadium is half the size of Michigan Stadium, Bielema anticipates that crowd noise will cause some issues for the Wolverines.
“When we go to Michigan we have to prepare for the crowd noise there, I would really like for someone to have to prepare for the crowd noise coming here,” he said. “That’s when we arrived.”
Moore likely wants this game played in a phone booth, so it’s going to be important for quarterback Luke Altmyer to air it out, and open everything up. Wideout Pat Bryant is having a stellar campaign so far, and has the speed to stretch the field on Michigan’s defense.
If Altmyer and Bryant can connect early and get points on the scoreboard, it’ll put the Wolverines in a tough spot. Michigan doesn’t have the offense to climb out of big deficit because of a lackluster passing game. Bielema is demanding that the crowd be into it on every play that the Wolverines have the ball. High noise levels can cause false starts, coaches to use a timeout, and disrupt the quarterback’s communication with the offensive line.
That’s exactly what Bielema hopes will happen to Michigan (4-2) in less than 24 hours. The fans have an opportunity to be a difference-maker, and be part of something that hasn’t happened since 2009, which is the last time the Fighting Illini beat the Wolverines at home.
