Illini put doubters in their place with upset win
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Illini put doubters in their place with upset win
Oct. 24—CHAMPAIGN — Collin Dixon happily admits it. He enjoys proving people wrong. His teammates must, too.
Illinois entered Saturday's game against Oregon as 10-point underdogs at Gies Memorial Stadium.
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Dixon, the team's star receiver, scored the game-clinching touchdown in Illinois' 21-10 victory.
So much for the experts.
"It's awesome," Dixon said. "You go out there, and it's Oregon. They're all highly recruited. They've got Nike and all that stuff. To go out there and show them it's the Big Ten and anyone can win any week."
Despite coming off a win, playing at home and having an extra week to prepare, Illinois was considered a long shot against the almost-ranked Ducks.
"We don't talk about it much, but we see it," Dixon said. "Everybody's got social media, and the TVs are always on. This group does a really good job of not letting it affect our belief in how we attack our work weeks."
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Dixon and some of the older Illini also had the memory of the 2024 game at Oregon, where the home team took a 35-3 lead at halftime and cruised to a 38-9 win.
"I think any time you play a game like that it's embarrassing to go out there and get beat like we did that day," Dixon said. "Knowing that we didn't execute very well on top of playing a really good team, it's not going to be a success."
Lesson learned.
"As long we execute, we're a good football team," Dixon said. "The reason you see us doing bad is we're not firing on all cylinders. (Saturday), we just did a good job of playing together."
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Opportunity knocks
The team's first winning streak of the season could lead to so much more. Five games left. Three against teams that are currently ranked in the Top 25. Imagine the possibilities.
"Hopefully, it just starts a roll for us," Dixon said. "Everyone (on the team) believes in us. It's just showing the outside world that we know that we can compete with teams like this. (Saturday) was a great step toward that."
Illinois moved above .500 two games after an upset loss at home to Purdue. The in-season ouster of defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck for Roger Cooper seems to be paying off. The unit played its best game of the season, holding the used-to-be high flying Ducks to three points after their opening drive.
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Even the field goal defense worked well for Illinois, as Oregon missed three attempts. Lots of McNuggets are going to be scarfed in C-U (part of a promotion for missed three-pointers). Yum.
Fifty-six years later
Illinois finally has a second win against Oregon.
For the longest time when the schools were in different conferences, it was no big deal.
But now with the Ducks in Tony Petitti's league, Illinois and Oregon will play twice every five years.
In his sixth season, Illinois coach Bret Bielema now has wins against all of the Big Ten's traditional powers ... except Ohio State. Add Oregon to the checklist that includes Michigan, Penn State and Southern California.
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"I know how good a football team they have been over the course of time," Bielema said. "Walking off that field at Oregon a couple years back, I realized how big that gap has been."
I asked Bielema later about the importance of a win against Oregon, which qualified for the College Football Playoff in 2024 and '25.
"I told them, 'This is the 2026 Fighting Illini,'" Bielema said. "Believe me, I saw Johnny Newton and Gabe Jacas on the sideline. I'd love to bring them back, but you can't. I think the thing I stressed early on was, 'You're playing Oregon. But you're playing a 2026 Oregon team.'"
In preparation for the game, Bielema watched the current Ducks — not the national title contender teams from the past two seasons.
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"I thought if we played well and executed and played a four-quarter game we'd have a chance to win," Bielema said.
He shared his confidence with athletic director Josh Whitman earlier in the week.
"He said 'I've got a good feeling about this one,'" Bielema said. "And I said, 'Me, too.' If you are around these guys, you can feel these things coming. Listen, I'm 4-3 and I wish I was 7-0, but this is a really fun group. I enjoy just beyond belief coaching these guys just because of the growth and perseverance. Sometimes those struggles help you be really, really good in the end and that's all I ask."
