Bielema ready to face Cornhuskers for seventh time in coaching career

(WCIA) — Friday’s matchup between No. 22 Nebraska and No. 24 Illinois will be the seventh time Bret Bielema stands on the opposite sideline of the Cornhuskers as a head coach.

Bielema holds a 4-2 record against Nebraska, with two of those wins coming in his time at Illinois.

“Very talented Nebraska football team have obviously a lot of respect for not only their head coach, but some of their coaches have had a very storied career,” said Bielema. “A lot of guys have done a really good things offensively and defensively. A lot of the same players we saw a year ago. Obviously, the addition of new players on both sides of the ball and in the kicking game. So tremendous challenge.”

This year’s match marks the first game of Big Ten play for both teams as well as Illinois’s first road test of the year. The last time these two teams met as ranked opponents was in 1985.

“I think, you know, more than anything is our first Big Ten game, right?” said Bielema. “It’s a rematch game. There’s a lot of different things that factor into it besides just the two Big Ten teams, Big Ten teams that are ranked. I think once our guys get into Big Ten play because of our conference right now, because of the exposure of 18 teams from coast to coast, these nine conference games, you know, mean a lot.”

Illinois takes on Nebraska on Friday night at 7 p.m.

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