Bret Bielema is getting his Illinois squad ready for Week 10. This past weekend, the Illini were on a bye but most recently lost to Wisconsin in a Week 8 thriller.

That game ultimately came down to a last-minute drive by the Badgers and a wild touchdown pass to Nolan Rucci with the game on the line. During his Monday press conference, Bielema revealed that play was something he addressed with the Big Ten office.

The head coach explained he initially thought the play went to a Wisconsin DL that wears No. 93. It wasn’t until Sunday that he realized Rucci — an offensive lineman — was the player with the catch.

“I was also working through the Big Ten office immediately after the Wisconsin game for the way the game ended. We had a player catch a pass who was No. 93 for Wisconsin. They have a defensive lineman who wears that jersey number, but that was not the case,” said Bielema. “When I went to the official stats Sunday morning it revealed an offensive lineman caught that pass, and I didn’t catch that because 93 — when he caught that, I just assumed that it was (the DL), and I was never notified of another No. 93 in the game.”

Bielema went on to detail that the formal process with the B1G offices was not complete until midweek of last week. It was a “huge learning experience” as a first-time deal for Bielema.

“Started a formal process to the Big Ten, asked for an explanation how that could happen and that kind of didn’t get resolved until Wednesday or Thursday last week,” Bielema explained. “That was a huge learning experience, something I had never been through before.”

Asked for a follow-up on the situation, Bielema identified the initial confusion about the play was because Rucci warmed up for the game wearing No. 66. However, he was not identified by officials when he reported into the game as No. 93.

“We saw 93 lineup at the tackle. Our players didn’t see it because he was covered up with the Y-Y. It’s a totally legal play, but again, he warmed up as No. 66 before the game, so that’s what we checked him off on our 2-deep lineup,” said Bielema. “And when you report into the game with any number other than what you reported in, you have to tell us. We’ve done it — I’ve probably done it 30 times in my coaching career… It’s very frustating and had a huge impact on the game.”

At the end of the day, it doesn’t change the outcome, but it does help shed some light on the wild finish to the game.

(H/T BTN)