Here's what Bret Bielema said after Illinois' loss to Maryland
Illinois lost a heartbreaker to Maryland on Friday night as the Terps won on a last-second field goal from Joseph Petrino.
The kick came from 32-yards out as Maryland was once down by a touchdown in the 4th quarter, but then scored 10 unanswered points to secure a 3-0 start.
Illinois drops to 1-2 on the season as they’ve now had back-to-back losses after a Week 1 win over Nebraska.
Head coach Bret Bielema spoke to the media after the contest and spoke about numerous topics, including if he was too conservative after Illinois grabbed the lead.
"For us to get to a point to win games, I think they've got to feel it, taste it, smell it, touch it, whatever we want to say, they've got to be able to do that and when that happens I think the worm will turn in a very positive way"#Illini Bret Bielema on winning pic.twitter.com/IWDxhpSxFu
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) September 18, 2021
Here's #Illini head coach Bret Bielema on his decision making on the 4th and 1 late in the game pic.twitter.com/wVCyH6DB7i
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) September 18, 2021
#Illini head coach Bret Bielema was asked several times about late game decisions and being conservative:
"I don't think we were being conservative, I didn't tell anybody to go conservative…if anything it was the exact opposite." pic.twitter.com/OaHjbzvIMk
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) September 18, 2021
"The last series, just complete opposite of what we wanted to accomplish"#Illini head coach Bret Bielema on his approach late in the game pic.twitter.com/wNoGdixILU
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) September 18, 2021
#Illini Bielema: "There's definitely a lot of positives…there are lot of things we've been coaching, preaching…the frustrating part for me was the blocked field goal and the INT after the strip fumble"
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) September 18, 2021
#Illini Bielema: The two moments that stand out are the blocked field goal and the (Seth Coleman) fumble.
— Alec Busse (@alec_busse) September 18, 2021
#Illini Bielema on Brandon Peters “there are some things he learned from today’s process”
— Marlee Wierda (@WCIA3Marlee) September 18, 2021
#Illini Bielema on Brandon Peters: "I thought our guys were excited to see him today…we've just got to convert on some of those 50-50 balls…the things that prevent you from winning we have to eliminate and that's part of the learning process for us."
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) September 18, 2021
#Illini Bielema on not going for it on fourth and 1: "At that point if we weren't able to convert it, you're giving them the ball at the 45 yard line and all the momentum.
— Alec Busse (@alec_busse) September 18, 2021
The Fighting Illini’s next game will be against Purdue on Sept. 25.
