Illini's Bret Bielema Has Quite The Admiration For Penn State Venue

Zachary Draves | Sep 24, 2024

Sep 14, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema shakes hands with head coach Jim McElwain (right) after a game at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Bret Bielema is the Illinois football coach, but he has respect for Penn State.

As the No. 19 Fighting Illini look ahead to their matchup against the No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, Bielema looked back at his first experience at Beaver Stadium.

He was a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa in 1994.

“I’ll go back to the first time I ever went there, wasn’t a great result," he said. "We were down 28-0 at the start of the second quarter. Bill Brazier, God rest his soul, one of the greatest men I’ve ever been around. Incredible teacher to me. I was up in a box with him. I was a young GA and it was 28-0 in the first quarter. And he took 28 times two and came up with 56 and he put 56 — I don’t know why he did it — he went 56 and 56 and came up with 112. He looked at me, he goes, “they’re gonna beat us 112 to nothing.” And I just never forget that moment, because I was watching his work right alongside me, and I just go back to that moment. It was such an incredible crowd. "

Since, Bielema has made frequent visits to Beaver Stadium as a coach for Wisconsin and now Illinois. Going into this Saturday, he expects nothing more than a frenzy from the Penn State fans who are expected to take part in a "White Out".

It is a ritual Bielema has an affinity for.

"I don’t know if they’re going to be in blue and white or whatever they’re going to be in this weekend — they’re going to be dressed, right?," he asked. "And it’s probably going to be one of the other. I know they’re calling for ‘White Out energy,’ whatever the hell that means. But I would just tell you that, the part that really, I think stands out, is their fans are intelligent.

He compared Penn State's traditions to Nebraska's in the sense they expect great football and are an enthusiastic bunch.

Bielema's fondness for the Penn State program goes back to the days of Joe Paterno. He recalled a moment where he heard the late coach speaking about the iconic Nittany Lion uniforms. He also mentioned witnessing an NFL legend come over to greet Paterno's widow, signifying the power of their program.

"I remember Joe Paterno, hearing at a speech, he was talking about uniforms," he said. "He goes, “I don’t like our uniforms,” he said, but he goes, “everybody knows it’s Penn State.” And I just have that in my mind of what this program has been built on. The people that have coached there, the success they’ve had. One of the greatest moments in my — I said that about jerseys, right? — but I was with Nike. We were in Hawaii, and I come around the corner and Franco Harris is standing there. And he came to see Sue Paterno. I was just like, that’s the ultimate — I mean, Joe had passed — like of a player to come over and see a coach’s wife. I was like, “whoo,” that’s, that’s a sign of a program, you know, so huge respect for that. That’s pretty cool.”

Zachary Draves is a contributor to Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. He can be reached at zdraves1013@gmail.com and on Instagram @zdraves0633.

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