The college football world readily acknowledges how the Illinois Fighting Illini surprised the nation. Now, can Bret Bielema live up to the hype in 2025? Or will they fade away into Big Ten obscurity?

It's early, but Illinois' class ranks No. 6 nationally and includes two blue-chippers among the eight commitments.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, center, celebrates with defensive backs Tyler Strain (20) and Matthew Bailey (7) after ...

Joel Klatt has a prediction for who may be the next SMU and crash the College Football Playoff party during the 2025 season.

When Bielema took over at Arkansas, he accepted the job knowing there was a mess to clean up in the wake of Bobby Petrino’s ...

The Fighting Illini coach didn't call out the recruit by name, but Bielema watched Dunlap's Mack Sutter play basketball ...

Bob Asmussen is a college football reporter and columnist for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at 217-393-8248 or [email protected]. If college football had a commissioner — it desperately ...

As Nebraska slowly builds its next class, a Citrus Bowl imbroglio helped Bret Bielema and Illinois break out on the 2026 ...

For the Wolverines, it is continuing off the field into the offseason. Illinois coach Bret Bielema decided to take a shot at Michigan and former Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh for his role in the ...

Former Wisconsin defensive lineman James Thompson Jr. met with the media on Friday for the first time since transferring to ...

The Fighting Illini's Bret Bielema is the latest college football head coach to visit Dunlap's Mack Sutter this month.