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Illinois, Bret Bielema rake in national honors following upset of Penn State

Scott Schultz

By Scott Schultz

Published:

Winning a 9-overtime game against a Top-20 team will get you some attention.

Illinois took down Penn State on Saturday after a 9-overtime marathon that was without a doubt the biggest win so far under first-year head coach Bret Bielema. The national media took notice, and Bielema was honored with the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week honor.

The Cheez-It Bowl and National Football Writers Association of America took notice as well, naming the Illini the Team of the Week.

The Illini defeated the Nittany Lions after 60 minutes of regulation, two normal overtimes and finally seven two-point conversion shoot-outs. The Illini weren’t far from pulling out the win in regulation. After a stalled-out Penn State drive resulted in the Illini getting the ball back with 27 seconds left, they made it to their own 42-yard line with 13 seconds left. But the Illini offense never came close to making it into field goal range.

Illinois will head to Minnesota on Saturday, Oct. 30 for an 11:00 AM kickoff.

Scott Schultz

Scott Schultz covers Michigan State Football, along with Breaking News for B1G Football & Basketball for Saturday Tradition. He also serves as an Automotive News Editor & Writer, and Softball Writer elsewhere on the web. Follow him on Twitter @SRSchultz.