Where Bret Bielema stands entering Year 3

The Fighting Illini are heading into Bret Bielema’s third season as the head coach. The former Wisconsin and Arkansas head coach has amassed a record of 13-12 and 9-9 in the Big Ten, going 5-7 in 2021 and just missing out on a bowl game, then going 8-5 in 2022, just missing out on the Big Ten West division title and losing to Mississippi State in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

His return to the Big Ten has been a success thus far.

He has the Illini in much better position than in 2020, when they fired Lovie Smith after his best season was a 6-7 one and he was 17-39 overall in five seasons. Illinois as a program had been quite irrelevant for quite some time, with just three 8+ win seasons since 1990 before Bielema arrived.

But just how good of a position has Bielema put the Illini program in?

Let’s take a look at his performance as head coach so far.

High School Recruiting

One issue for Illinois is the fact that it is consistently out-recruited in its own state.

When you are not a…