The Illinois Fighting Illini are 6-3 on the season and inching toward the top of the Big Ten Conference with three games left on the schedule including Nov. 13 against the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. 

The Fighting Illini haven't been mathematically eliminated from the Big Ten championship race yet and are angling for an upset victory over UCLA that could vault them into College Football Playoff consideration.

Coach Bret Bielema is proud of his team after four straight wins. He described the traits that have aided his team in their turnaround as he assigned credit. 

Bielema spoke about the intersection between NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) dollars and player development in comments shared by Glenn Kinley of WCIA-3 Champaign. 

He was asked how Illinois turned things around after a 2-3 start, one that was compounded with a hand injury suffered by starting quarterback Katin Houser. 

"Well, I think, first, it's on our players, right, as coach, you can will 'em into anything but they gotta believe, and I thought, one of the things I've really enjoyed about coaching this team is just their desire to be successful for each other. 

"I think they're very selfless. In this world that we're livin' in, listen, I don't know the numbers, but you can't buy wins. In this world we're livin' in, it's a different world, and you can't just give someone money and expect them to be good...This group is extremely gritty, I'm very excited to be where we're at, but I also get excited about where we can go.

"We got a chance to play, on paper, the highest-ranked and best Big Ten team, and super excited about this moment," Bielema added, correcting himself after realizing that Indiana was ranked higher coming into Week 10 among Big Ten teams. 

Illinois will head to one of college football's most hallowed cathedrals, the Rose Bowl, to face coach Bob Chesney's 9-0 Bruins on Nov. 13, who are also 6-0 in the Big Ten after beating Minnesota by a score of 34-20 in Week 10. 

Chesney's team has also shown plenty of heart and grit this season in overcoming an injury to starting QB Nico Iamaleava among other issues they've dealt with on the injury front. 

Illinois' defense has held its last three opponents to under 20 points and is settling into a nice rhythm under new defensive coordinator Roger Cooper, who took over for Bobby Hauck after a rough start to the season and Hauck's resignation. 

The Fighting Illini won't be favored against the Bruins, but anyone who's watched them in the past few weeks, and watched the triumphant and rapidly improving return of Houser, knows that Bielema's team has a great chance to beat Chesney's by the time the ball is kicked off at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.