Bret Bielema was a graduate assistant at Iowa the first time he coached in Beaver Stadium in 1994, and the memory of a 61-21 loss to the Nittany Lions will forever be cemented in his memory. He knows all too well how difficult it will be for his No. 19-ranked Illinois squad to win this weekend, especially under the bright lights of one of college football’s most electric venues.
But the Fighting Illini are going to try their best in what will be their first top-20 road matchup since 1991, a game Bielema played in when he was defensive tackle for the Hawkeyes.
“It’s kind of like a spaceship out in the middle of nowhere,” Bielema said of Beaver Stadium. “I don’t know if they’re going to be in blue and white or whatever they’re going to be in this weekend. They’re going to be dressed, right? It’s probably going to be one or the other. I know they’re calling for a White Out energy, whatever the hell that means.”
Bielema doesn’t care what color the fans wear. He knows they’ll show up.
“Penn State fans are accustomed to great football,” Bielema said. “I remember hearing Joe Paterno at a speech, talking about uniforms. He goes, ‘I don’t like our uniforms, but everybody knows it’s Penn State, right?’ And I just have that in my mind of what this program has been built on.”
The standard for the Nittany Lions is to win every game on their schedule. But that hasn’t been done since 1994, the same year Bielema made his coaching debut in Beaver Stadium. And even 30 years later, Bielema can’t escape the past. Penn State’s 1994 team, which finished the year ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll, will be honored on Saturday.
Bielema isn’t afraid of expectations, or lack thereof, nor is he afraid of tradition. It was just last week that the Fighting Illini won in overtime in another hostile atmosphere at Nebraska. Packed stadium, ranked team or not, the Nittany Lions are just another team on Bielema’s schedule as he looks to make history in 2024.
“They’re a program that’s been at the top of college football for a long time. They’re undefeated and ranked in the top 10 for a reason,” Bielema said. “They’ve got really good players, they’ve got phenomenal coaches, they’ve got a great environment, and now we just get to come be a part of it.”
