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CHAMPAIGN – The Illini were headed in the right direction in coach Bret Bielema’s second season as football coach.

The 7-1 start put the Illini in control of the Big Ten West, after wins over Wyoming, Virginia, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Then the wheels came off.

Losses to Michigan State and Purdue at home bounced the Illini out of a berth into the conference championship game. The slide continued in 2023. The resulting 5-7 record chilled Illini momentum and the arduous climb in the growing footprint of the Big Ten’s coast-to-coast footprint.