The Latest Breaking News from Bret Bielema

The Illini (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) are wrapping up their best season since the 2007 Rose Bowl team won nine games. They were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll for five straight weeks and made the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time.

They weren’t just colleagues and counterparts, after all. They were pals from the coaching road.

Even though the Illini have dropped three in a row, they’ve had as many games worth talking about as any Big Ten team in 2022.

The Fighting Illini fell to the undefeated Wolverines in Ann Arbor following a late-game field goal.

The Wolverines played much of the second half without star running back Blake Corum, who grabbed his left knee after being tackled just before halftime.

The death of Bret Bielema’s mother, Marilyn, hangs a cloud over the Illini’s attempt to score an upset that would greatly aid their cause in the Big Ten West.

CHICAGO — The Big Ten season once again should come down to The Game, a sure sign normalcy has been restored in Middle America.

There’s a lot that could still happen, but the Illini aren’t likely to be the last ones standing. And they will rue Saturday’s defeat as surely as they will the 23-15 letdown against Michigan State that preceded it.

Broader implications aside, simply getting the better of the Boilermakers for a change would hit the spot. They’ve taken home the Cannon in five of the last six renditions of this rivalry series and have a five-game winning streak at Memorial Stadium, where they haven’t lost since 2010.