Take yourself back to December 2020. Josh Whitman had just dismissed Lovie Smith. Rod Smith was leading the Illini in their final game of the season.
And present in the stadium was the new man in charge,
Bret Bielema. It was a symbolic and literal changing of the guard in Champaign. Bielema won the gig over Lance Leipold and Marcus Freeman. Clark Lea, Josh Heupel, and Billy Napier were also hot candidates during that cycle.
So thinking back to your fandom on that day and in that moment, what would have made you happy for the first five years of the Bielema era?
Would (likely) three Florida bowl games in five years have satisfied you?
Would 12 Illinois players drafted in the first four draft cycles have appealed to you?
Would three 8+ win regular seasons for (checks notes) ILLINOIS FOOTBALL have tickled your fan fancy?
If not, then it’s okay to go back to rooting for Nebraska.
But the Bielema era has hit the pothole of consistency.
The blowout loss in Seattle doesn’t change that.
The iceberg that hit the boat in Bloomington doesn’t change that, either.
The Illini still have a shot at an excellent season. Even if they don’t run the table, going 500 would lead to a 7-5 year. For context, Bielema’s third-best season would have been Lovie Smith’s best season.
Look, greed is good. Seeing the Illini with preseason hype that rivals Cris Collinsworth’s Kansas City Chiefs praise really created a euphoric desire in a fan base lusting after a Cignetti campaign.
This season did not scratch that itch.
But a good ending to the year will put Bielema in rare air.
Luke Altmyer and Gabe Jacas are superb examples of SEC players crushing it in the traditional Big Ten footprint, taking less money to shine in Champaign-Urbana. They will continue to do so on Sundays.
Barry Lunney Jr. has a shot at getting a head coaching job in the Sun Belt or a similar conference, which would give Bielema two coordinators-turned-coaches in his first five seasons.
Progress is not always linear. It does not always take the form of the predictable package under the tree.
Sometimes it’s Cignetti. Other times it looks more like Rick Barnes. In Bielema’s case, it seems like sustained success in the modern Big Ten. And that’s what fans clamored for: Can Illinois just be good consistently?
Yes, yes they can.
