A look at how Illinois coach Bielema prepared team for Nebraska: ‘Buckle up, buttercup’

Workmanlike was the word Illinois coach Bret Bielema used to describe the Illini’s 26-9 win over Nebraska on Saturday — a description echoed in different ways by his players, who raised their season record to 7-1 and kept a firm grip on the Big Ten West.

“How do we find this workman-type mentality to get wins on the road?” Bielema said. “I just kind of preach it to them. I talked all week, ‘You’ve got to buckle up, buttercup. It’s going to be a tough game, a road environment. … I understand how hard it is to win here.”

The players attributed their workmanlike performance to Bielema, who they said has changed the culture and attitude since he took over in Champaign last year.

“It starts with Coach B,” quarterback Tommy DeVito said. “And him really just showing us what we’re capable of. Then at the end, it comes down to us players. We’re the ones on the field. I think it comes down to when we started winter workouts and we saw the potential we had and the standard we were holding each other to.”

Saturday’s offensive game plan, DeVito said, was pretty simple. Dominate the time of possession — Illinois had the ball for 38 minutes to Nebraska’s 21 — and just keep moving forward.

“You want to keep moving the ball, keep staying on the field as much as possible,” he said. “But the defense also gave us the ball back in some good situations… our time of possession is just testament to the big guys up front being able to withstand for that long and then Chase, the receivers and I just doing our thing.”

Bielema’s attitude has had a similar impact on the defense, which had to regroup after they gave up a 56-yard touchdown pass that gave Nebraska a short-lived 9-6 lead, three minutes into the second quarter.

“Coach B always talks about how they’re going to get theirs, so it’s just how we respond to adversity, to those big plays,” said defensive back Devon Witherspoon, who shut down Nebraska’s Trey Palmer, holding him to just one catch for one yard. “We came together as a defense and in the second half said “no more” and dominated the second half.

How dominating? After Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson left the game after throwing an interception with 6:31 remaining in the first half, the Huskers gained just 34 yards on eight possessions.

That interception, which led to a field goal, was the first of two by Sydney Brown, who also led the Illini in tackles with 6, sharing the spotlight with his brother, running back Chase, the nation’s rushing leader who added 149 yards to raise his season total to 1,207.

“I saw both interceptions,” Chase said. “He played a really good game today, fought through adversity at the start of the game and you know pulled through in the end…and it was a really good pick at the end there that just showed why he’s such a good player.”

Sydney repaid the praise, saying “he deserves all the attention he gets,” that he doesn’t mind being overshadowed by his brother and that the pair never talk about football when they’re together.

The players, Bielema said, were already talking about their game next week against Michigan State — “So I think our guys are locked into the moment,” adding that the Illini are starting to resemble championship teams he’s been around in the past.

“I’ve been around people that have done things and this team is just on that same caliber if not better,” he said. “We are exceptional on defense. We have playmakers on literally both sides of the ball and in the kicking game And we’re gaining confidence.”