Illinois coach Bret Bielema came to Champaign, Ill. with a Big Ten championship winning pedigree from his days with former offensive coordinator Paul Chryst in Wisconsin. 

The Fighting Illini head coach has raised the bar on what his new program can accomplish since being named head coach in December 2020, and now leads a 6-3 football team with a huge game on tap against the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl in Week 11. 

Bielema was asked a question about qualifying for a bowl game in three straight seasons, and steered the reporter's question to a higher plane as he brought up something many fans hadn't been thinking about, a possible berth in the College Football Playoff. 

Bielema laid out his mindset heading into the stretch run with UCLA on deck for Friday, Nov. 13, in comments shared by Glenn Kinley of WCIA-3 Champaign. 

"Well, with all due respect, we're eligible for the postseason, there's gonna be, I think a 9-3 college football team getting into the College Football Playoffs, so I appreciate it, but alls I wanna do is win this game, we'll take it to film operations tomorrow, and then we gotta get a really good week in of practice against a good UCLA team, and see where this thing can go." 

Illinois' final three games are tough with the No. 8 Bruins up next for a 9:00 PM kickoff next Saturday night, followed by a home game against No. 19 Iowa, which just beat Northwestern on the road.

The Fighting Illini will close the regular season against the Northwestern Wildcats at the New Ryan Field on Nov. 28, giving Bielema's team one last chance to impress the College Football Playoff Selection Committee against a team that has impressed under coach David Braun this year. 

Illinois' defense has been on a hot streak since Roger Cooper took over for the departed Bobby Hauck at defensive coordinator.

The Fighting Illini previously struggled on defense in a 38-37 road game against Michigan State that included a right throwing hand injury to Katin Houser, the team's starter at QB, but the last three weeks have been nothing short of exceptional. 

Illinois' defense has given up 10, 17 and 13 points to Oregon, Maryland and Nebraska, three explosive offenses that have scored a lot of points this season in the Big Ten and non-conference arenas. 

Illinois football is a long shot to sneak into the College Football Playoff, but Bielema, to his credit, is not backing down, or tempering expectations for anyone else's comfort.

The Fighting Illini are a program to watch in large part because of their outspoken leader, who doesn't mind going against the grain when it comes to protecting, and furthering, his team's interests.