COLUMN: In celebrating Illini football history, no one deserved a win over Michigan more than Bret Bielema

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Sunday was the usual day of preparation for Illinois football, but there was already a heavier center of gravity on the day.

The defending national champions and No. 24 Michigan Wolverines were coming. It was going to be first AP Top 25 ranked vs. ranked game at Memorial Stadium since 2000.

Illini head coach Bret Bielema, in a rare moment, opened up to his team. It wasn't about the gravitas of a top-25 game or anything on the field. He bared his emotions.

"He tends to keep some things like that away from us," Illinois quarterback Luke Altmeyer said.

Bielema said he didn't want to make it about him, but some things are difficult to keep in.

"This game has always had a lot of things around it," Bielema said. "That has been tugging at my heart all week."

Games against Michigan football have been personal for Bielema for years.

That's why the Illini's suffocating 21-7 win over the defending national champions, the first over the Wolverines since 2009, meant plenty to Bielema.

Of all the celebrations and jubilee that spilled over onto the field as the clock hit zero and went into the night in Champaign, no one deserved the moment more than the Illini head coach.

"I was feeling for him and knew this what meant the world to him," Altmeyer said. "One of the first things I thought after the game was just, I looked for him. Just to see the smile on his face was really, really cool."

Two years ago, before Illinois lost in a heartbreaker to No. 3 Michigan 19-17, Marilyn, Bielema's mother, died two days before the game. In 1990, when Bielema was a defensive lineman playing for Hayden Fry at Iowa, his sister, Betsy, passed away.

Bielema learned about her passing only hours after the Hawkeyes beat Michigan in Ann Arbor.

For years, playing Michigan has meant more to Bielema. Without hesitating, he could tell you he's beaten the Wolveries four times in his coaching career.

The reminders of his family gripped the stoic Bielema as he became emotional delivering an opening statement following the win. 

"I told our team on Sunday I battled some demons," Bielema said. "More than you can imagine."

Bielema explained that pain last Sunday as the team began to prepare for Michigan. He didn't plan on getting emotional, and said half the room probably had little knowledge of any of his story.

It was a moment of tenderness that evoked emotions that gripped the Illini. 

They saw a side of their head coach they don't usually see.

"I don't even think he planned to to go there," Altmeyer said. "I think he said that too, but just such a coach, such a man of love and passion and heart for his family."

Bielema explained the passion for his family after the game. He recalled hearing one of his mom's favorite hymns over the radio on Friday in 2022 right before Illinois played Michigan. He had to sit in his car for 20 minutes to navigate the grief and emotions.

Bielema said those things don't happen by chance. Nearly two years later, he was able to celebrate her memory by beating Michigan.

"I know that she's smiling right now," he said.

Saturday was an arrival for Illinois.

One of the first top-25 match ups in Champaign in years featured an homage to the centennial of Memorial Stadium's dedication. The program paid homage to the first-ever Illini star in Harold "Red" Grange, who once tantalized Michigan with a five-touchdown outing 100 years prior, with helmets that mirrored the leather hats players in the 1920s used to don.

Winning over Michigan in the primetime afternoon slot on CBS clinched bowl eligibility for the Illini and also lifted them into the College Football Playoff conversation.

Moments like these were something Bielema created at Wisconsin and failed to create at Arkansas. He's starting to make them in Champaign.

"I thank my wife and my family to have this moment," Bielema said. "That is what I came here for. I thought we could build Illinois into something that is sustainable, and this is a big step in that direction."

An emotional Bielema, honoring his family's memory, credited the Champaign and Illinois football community for Saturday.

The support he's received in his four years leading the Illini program was what made Saturday's win over the Wolverines validating.

"To have our fan base get rewarded is massive," Bielema said. "They've been through 24 years of no ranked match ups in Memorial Stadium. They've been buying tickets for a long time and to have this moment come to life in front of us was awesome."

There are more moments to come, too.

Illinois, with two wins over ranked teams under their belt, have a date with top-ranked Oregon coming next weekend. A win there would vault Illinois firmly into CFP position.

Led by an elite defense, Illinois has the experience to pull off an upset in Eugene, Oregon. The team also has the motivation in playing for a coach who wasn't afraid to show his emotions.

Bielema deserved the validation on Saturday. His players now have a new-found respect for the battles he's won.

"Knowing that he's in our corner, he's our fearless leader, gives us so much confidence," Altmeyer said. "Winning for him was, I think, even cooler just with his history and for his family."

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