Everything Bret Bielema said after Illinois beat Tennessee in the Music City Bowl
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Illinois football coach Bret Bielema met with the media following the Fighting Illini‘s 30-28 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers in the Music City Bowl.
Here is the full transcript of what the Illinois coach had to say in the news conference, starting with his opening statement as he sat beside seniors Miles Scott and Luke Altmyer:
Opening statement: “First, I just wanna say thank you to the Music City Bowl. From the time we got the invitation to where we are today, just took care of us, all of our families, all of our players, to be at the hotel and to share the experience this week.
“But ultimately, to have the game today, get another victory two years in a row now against the SEC opponent. Give all the credit to Tennessee, a really good football team. Got tremendous respect for Coach (Josh) Heupel and his staff and what they’ve been able to accomplish this year.
“But I’m super excited for these guys, these two guys to my left, just represent everything about Illinois football. Obviously, there’s a win and all that goes into it, but these two guys represent everything you want college football to be. So these games are always great, but they’re also very sad.
“I had a very tough time in our meeting last night cuz I knew this was gonna be the last time I was with a variety of guys. And to give them this moment that they’ll carry with them. But bowl games are unique in the fact that you carry them for the entire six months before we play again.
“So really excited about that. With that, we’ll open it up for some questions.”
Bret Bielema on the game-winning drive
Question: Coach … will you take us through that final game-winning drive?
Bielema: “Really, we had five minutes. I knew that if we had a feeling we would be able to score.
“I didn’t know if it was gonna be a field goal or a touchdown. But once the drive kinda continued to happen, great execution by Luke on the third and sixth to get him to jump, which made it to third and one. And then centered it up there for David Olano to hit his game win field goal.
“But I really knew the ball in nine’s hands, we were gonna be in good shape. I was just hoping that we could take it down to minimal clock for our defense. Not that we didn’t have confidence, but we just needed to take the air out of their tires and kinda make it all ours.”
Question: Coach, it was a 94-yard kick return right before that that gave Tennessee the lead. How were you guys able to sustain things despite a sudden change like that?
Bielema: “Well, I would just say this. It’s not what happened, it’s how you react to what happened. We preach it, we talk it, we live it.
“Obviously, an unfortunate deal. They had the ball hit the ground. They got around our right edge. I know there was some leakage up there in the middle, and then their guy created a play. Hey, you’re playing a team with a lot of good players. But it’s not that act that’s gonna end us. It’s gonna be our reaction. And then obviously our offense went out and did it very, very well. So super excited for our guys.”
Bret Bielema on back-to-back bowl wins
Question:Coach, with 19 wins in two years … What’s happening to you guys and these guys up here?
Bielema: “We have talked a lot about different numbers, and I showed them last night. When we got done with the last win of the year with Northwestern at home, there were several records that we had either tied or broke, right? And I knew that if we got this one tonight, that would set all kinds of records. And we don’t have to read about other years anymore. I think people usually either read about history or write history. And this group’s writing history.
“And I think we’ll continue to do that. … I believe that puts us at 13-4 in one-score games over the last several years, which is just an incredible statistic. And I think a lot of it is that Luke has a lot of confidence. But when Luke shows his confidence through the way he plays, it makes everybody else around him play very, very well. So a very contagious player, and it affects the whole team.”
Bret Bielema on trusting David Olano
Question: Brett, you went for it on a couple fourth downs, had David kick three times. What kind of went into those decisions?
Bielema: “Well, the first two and a half were, David felt good from the 25, 27-yard line going that direction. So we were just outside of those marks, and I would rather go for it, rather than try to punt it away or pooch it.
“So both of those, I would do again 100 times over. We went for a fourth down on a couple of those drives there at the end, and it ended up working our way. So David’s a very good field goal kicker, but it just felt for us to win the game, we need to be aggressive in those moments.
“And for the most part, it played in our favor. Then when you put the game in his foot, I guess, instead of his hands, just what was kind of your thoughts as he went out there? Well, not just David. David would be the first to tell you, right, the snapper, the holder. … And a lot of really, really good things that when you have confidence in your kicker, but also in the operation, that makes you play the game. I give credit to my coaches.
“Ben Miller is a huge asset to our football team on the sidelines. He and I were talking through the fourth quarter clock situation there at least five or six times in the last seven or eight minutes that ended up playing out to a tee.”
Bret Bielema on reflecting on 2025
Question: Brett, when you look back on the 2025 season, what is probably going to be your biggest takeaway from it, and why?
Bielema: “Well, I tell our players all the time, right? As players and coaches, you’re often defined by your record, right? Like the wins and losses, but for me as a head coach now, just finished my 17th year as a head coach, it’s the memories that are created.
“With these guys, I remember the first time Miles walked into my office, or the first time Luke walked into my office. I remember dealing with some adversity with both these guys, but also a lot of success. I think as a head coach, one thing that really defines your success is after they leave you, what do they do, right? Both these kids, both these guys come from incredible people, families, moms and dads that have put them in these positions.
“But I’m gonna watch both these guys play in the NFL, and I’m gonna smile a lot, right, because you were with them on their journey. So just these memories, it’s kind of funny, both of them are sitting here. My youngest daughter asked me about Luke Altmeyer literally on an every-day basis.
“And we were sitting in a team meeting, or a team meal at the country club, one of the last meals we had, and my daughter walks up, sits on my lap. She goes, where’s Miles? I said, Miles Scott? She said, yeah, all the boys in my class wanna be Miles Scott.
“And I just was smiling because he’s a defensive player that has turned his life into a former wide receiver to a DB. And now that there’s young people in this community that wanna be Miles Scott, they have no idea how much that makes me as a head coach feel, but so proud of what they’ve accomplished in so many ways. So the 2025 season was a team that beat two bowl games back-to-back against SEC teams.
“I think SEC is now 0-4, it would be 5-0 in the Big Ten. I’m gonna take that every day, right? So a little propaganda there, but propaganda is good propaganda.”
Bret Bielema on Luke Altmyer
Question:I guess Brett, now that Luke is done, can you put a bow on what he meant for the elevation of this program and why he was able to take this program?
Bielema: “Yeah, I think the two things that I always take from Luke is just, he took a chance on us, right? He had a million different opportunities. He was a very sought-after player in the portal. I love the fact that he stayed with his team because they needed him through the bowl game, which really gave us the chance to have it.
“And we thought we were gonna have Tommy back. And then when that got denied, it kind of made us late to the portal. And since he was late coming out, that actually made everything in our favor.
“But the growth for me as a head coach, what I’ve learned from Luke and his end-of-half, end-of-game scenarios, we have these meetings and his voice that he speaks with his confidence. But then to see the reaction of our fans and the people say so many things about what he’s accomplished. And his mom and dad always talk about they dropped off a young man that was kind of in a tough spot from where he came from. And it brought him here to Champaign in the middle of January. It was cold and they were dropping him off and leaving him. And now he’s coming out of here, he’s about as confident and full of a very, very, very bright future. That’s probably what I’ll always think about.”
Bret Bielema on his defense
Question: Just defensively, what did you feel like worked out well today and allowed you guys to be aggressive and get a lot of negative plays?
Bielema: “We wanted to make sure that we got our feet in the grass and we could read and react and play a little bit more zone than we’ve ever probably played. Which I think took them off their mark a little bit. But it gets some pressure up front. The good thing was we knew they’re a good offense. They created a few plays. But the defense always bowed up.
“I think that stop in the first half to hold them to a field goal. It went wide right, was a really, really big deal. And then the offensive response.
“But yeah, there was a lot of great efforts out there. Really all three phases win this game. We talk about it all the time, right? Penalties, mental errors, and turnovers. But we did not commit those, they did. And then on the flip side of it, we had three keys to victory. And our last key was to have great situational football awareness and execution. And that was defined in the fourth quarter here today. So really fun to see a game plan work out.”
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Everything Bret Bielema said after Illinois beat Tennessee in the Music City Bowl
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