Now What for Bret Bielema and Illinois?

“At a loss for words….never been a part of a thing like that” said Bielema. “The thing that jumped out to me as we began to unfold in the second half was that we just didn’t have answers for what they were doing. They kept pouring it on which is exactly what they should do.”

Losing games is something every veteran head coach, no matter how successful, is used to. They can usually refocus their players and rally the team for the next obstacle, which is always quickly approaching.

But there is no script on how a coach should handle a 56-point loss when your team is No. 9 in the country. There is no magic elixir that he can give his team today that will have any of the players forget what they just experienced. The same players that began the game, full of optimism, were immediately and continuously humbled for almost four hours on Saturday night.

No matter how embarrassing the experience was for Bielema and the Illini, they have to find a way to put the game behind them. And the main reason they have to do this successfully and quickly is because their next game is on Saturday against undefeated No. 25 USC (4-0).

The Trojans, who are sure to move up a few spots in this week’s AP Poll, will arrive full of confidence. Illinois must be ready for this, but they do have a few things working in their favor. First, it is a home game, plus it is Homecoming. Also, it is a noon kickoff, which makes it a 9:00 A.M. kickoff for the Trojans. After last night, the Illini can use any advantage they can get.

If the Illini hope to achieve any of the lofty goals they established for themselves during the offseason, a win on Saturday is a must. If not, Bielema will be back on the podium trying to figure out how and why everything completely unraveled in a week.

The college football season is a non-stop train, which has the potential of running through the Illini if the players don’t figure out a way to put last night’s beatdown behind them as soon as possible.