Urban Meyer Breaks Down the Bret Bielema Effect at Illinois

On the Big Ten Network, Meyer pointed out a play that speaks to Bielema's influence in Champaign

Oct 21, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Former Ohio State Buckeye football coach Urban Meyer walks to the Big Noon Kickoff show set before the Penn State Nittany Lions game at Ohio Stadium. / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

A lot of football analysis programming amounts to a bunch of ex-jocks chortling and back-slapping around a studio space, busting chops about their minor career failures and knee replacements. Not the Big Ten Network, where former conference coaches Urban Meyer and Gerry DiNardo – both of whom have special teams backgrounds – recently dug into Illinois' pivotal fake punt in last Saturday's 21-7 win over Michigan, a call that both analysts believe represents something bigger in Champaign.

FAKE‼️@CoachUrbanMeyer & @gerrydinardo take a look at @IlliniFootball's game-changing fake punt in the latest 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴 👇#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/QeWDimlLTu

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 22, 2024

"Bret Bielema, in my opinion, is one of the best coaches in the country," DiNardo said, "and an example of it is how he manages his special teams."

DiNardo, the head coach at Indiana from 2002-2004, noted that Bielema gets a number of coaches involved – including special teams coach Robby Discher and special teams assistant Chris Hurd – in this phase of the game. And Bielema, who after the Michigan game called coaching Illinois' punt shield his "baby" and the half an hour he spends with that group on Wednesday mornings "truly one of my favorite 30 minutes of the whole week," leaves nothing there to chance.

"I've been to practice," DiNardo said. "Bret Bielema coaches special teams just like he coaches offense and defense – hands-on."

Meyer, the former Ohio State head man who had previously coached receivers and special teams under Bob Davie at Notre Dame, clearly has a soft spot for all areas of the kicking and return teams. He sets up the Illini fake-punt clip by noting that the game was still very much in the balance, with Illinois nursing a 13-7 lead against UM in the third quarter.

"[There's] only one person in that organization who's going to make the decision to run a fake punt in the third quarter," Meyer said. "I'm telling you, I think the game turns out much different if they didn't do that."

The payoff, of course, is that everyone involved in the play – from punter Hugh Robertson (who sold a bad snap) to center T.J. McMillen (who made the call at the line and delivered a key block) to tight Tanner Arkin (who rumbled 36 yards off the direct snap) – executed to near-perfection.

"To me, this is a game changer," Meyer said. "It's a flip of field position, and more importantly than that, it's a possession the Wolverines did not get."

The play led to a final score that salted away the game and left No. 20 Illinois in position to head into Saturday's matchup in Eugene against the top-ranked Oregon Ducks with College Football Playoff dreams – almost unthinkably – still dancing in the heads of Illini fans in late October.

"The University of Illinois is one of the best-coached teams in the country," Meyer said. "You see them do the little things right, and that's because the head coach has his hands on everything."

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