The Illinois Fighting Illini lost to Wisconsin 27-10 Saturday night. The defeat ended a two-game winning streak and prevented Illinois from reaching nine wins in the regular season.
Bret Bielema spoke briefly after the loss. The Illinois head coach acknowledged the team’s poor performance was unacceptable.
Bielema addressed the media following the defeat against Wisconsin, according to video from the postgame press conference.
“I told our guys the biggest thing they can’t do is leave this moment. Have to take this on the plane ride with us and learn from it, get better from it.”
Illinois has one regular season game remaining against Northwestern next Saturday.
Bielema said he didn’t see warning signs before the Wisconsin game.
“I didn’t have any red flags going into the weekend. I knew we had to protect the edges, and we didn’t do that, and it made a big impact on the game.”
The Illinois coach wouldn’t commit to immediate defensive changes when asked about adjustments.
“There’s obviously going to be offseason corrections, but we got to focus on Northwestern.”
Illinois enters Week 14 needing a win against the Northwestern Wildcats to finish the regular season on a positive note.
The rivalry game will determine how the Fighting Illini’s season is remembered.
