Illini football warming up as stretch run nears

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Nov. 14—CHAMPAIGN — When the heavy white stuff unexpectedly hit the area Monday, Illinois football coach Bret Bielema wondered if his team's next game might be a repeat of the Ice Bowl (ask your grandparents).

No such worry. As a struggling Maryland team comes to town for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Gies Memorial Stadium, the forecast calls for temperatures in the low 70s and no snow. World Series weather.

Bielema's team worked out Thursday morning in ideal conditions.

Barely needed a jacket.

"We were in there on Tuesday and it felt like 22 (degrees)," Bielema said. "Out there (Thursday), I was layered up and had too many layers on.

"Excited for Saturday. We've had four straight sellouts. To get as close as we can to that would be absolutely awesome."

Illinois (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) enters as a 14-point favorite against the Terrapins (4-5, 1-5). The Illini just had an open weekend, a chance to recover from nagging aches and pains ahead of the final three games.

"Put ourselves back in position to make a run here," Bielema said.

Maryland is led by seventh-year coach Mike Locksley, who served as Ron Zook's offensive coordinator at Illinois from 2005-2008. He played a major part in Illinois' 2007 upset win against No. 1 Ohio State and advancement to the Rose Bowl.

"I've got super respect for Coach Locksley in his entire career," Bielema said. "I know we're going to get a very excited Maryland football team to come in here. Hopefully, we can take it one play at a time and see what happens."

Bielema said the Illini are healthy, with veteran linebacker Dylan Rosiek expected to return. The East Lake, Fla., native with 35 tackles didn't play during the Illini's 35-13 home win against Rutgers on Nov. 1.

"Everybody should be good to go," Bielema said.

Maryland features an opportunistic defense, which ranks among the national leaders in turnovers gained. The Terrapins have 17 interceptions this season, the second most behind Southern Mississippi, which has 20.

"What shows up time and time again on film is their edge players have been very productive," Bielema said. "Defensively, I think they're just very aggressive."

Making a list

Illinois' Luke Altmyer is a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, which goes to the nation's top quarterback.

Bielema has changed his ideas through the years about how to deal with the annual awards.

"Obviously, very happy for Luke," Bielema said. "But all our of guys postseason awards, it's probably a bigger evolution for me as a head coach. I used to kind of think those things just took care of themselves."

But as a young coach, he took special interest in Joe Thomas' bid for the Outland Trophy while at Wisconsin. The future Pro Football Hall of Famer won the 2006 award with Bielema's help.

"I called every Outland Trophy voter," Bielema said. "I remember making that a priority. A lot of those voters were like, 'Oh, my God. This never happens.'"

Advocating for his players when they are up for awards seems to be a part of Bielema's job. As is touting his players to NFL scouts.

"Those kids do everything for us while they're here," Bielema said. "If there's anything we can do as coaches to get them those awards, those things matter. It's crazy how it plays out."

About time

A gaping hole was on the 2026 Illinois football schedule. Consider it filled. On Thursday, the school announced the final nonconference game for next season, a Sept. 5 home game against UAB. It will be the first game ever between the programs, though to be fair, the Blazers have only had football since 1991.

An obvious connection exists between the schools: the late Gene Bartow. After his one season coaching the Illinois men's basketball team in the 1974-75 season before Lou Henson came to its rescue, Bartow went to UCLA for two seasons, then became the first head coach at UAB in 1979.

In football, UAB is a member of the American Athletic Conference and is currently 3-6 on the season. The Blazers will likely have a new coach when they arrive in Champaign next after former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer was fired in mid-October. Alex Mortensen, the son of the late NFL reporter Chris Mortensen, is UAB's interim coach.

Illinois also has nonconconference dates in 2026 against Duke (Sept. 12) and Southern Illinois (Sept. 19).

Later/eventually, the Big Ten will announce league dates for the 2026. Illinois knows it will play Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon and Purdue at home. Road trips will be to Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State and UCLA.

Two of the teams on next year's list, Ohio State and Oregon, will likely be coming off College Football Playoff appearances.

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