Why Duke Coach Manny Diaz Calls Bret Bielema and Illinois Football 'the Blueprint'

After Illinois' 52-3 thumping of Western Illinois in last week's season opener, Leathernecks coach Joe Davis was asked if the Illini had caught them off guard with anything."I would say that they ran exactly what we thought they were going to run, really, on both sides of the ball," he said. "I'm calling the offense, so I'm a little bit more tuned in to what Illinois was doing on defense. But, really, they played exactly how we thought that they were going to play."

You could argue that Bielema was keeping his playbook close to his vest against an eminently beatable opponent in that one, but for the most part, college football teams are what they are – especially in season. An individual play or wrinkle can be added here and there, some concessions made for a particular opponent. There just isn't time, though, to reinvent the wheel every week. The Illini and Blue Devils see each other, so the element of surprise Saturday won't be an issue.

"This will be a mid-zone, inside zone, gap scheme," Diaz said of what his Duke defense will face in Illinois. "Do you enjoy fitting up the run, and do you enjoy doing it again and again? But it's not just old-time Big Ten football."

Diaz highlighted the Illini's experienced offensive line, formidable power formations and dynamic roster of running backs, but he also pointed out the importance of not getting too unbalanced in loading up to stop them. Illinois' new receivers are potential playmakers, and quarterback Luke Altmyer keeps plays alive with his scrambling."It's as you'd expect," Diaz said. "It's a complete offense."

In fact, Diaz spoke so highly of Bielema's work in Champaign that he would like to pry that playbook away from his rival's pullover and maybe rip out a few pages. He pointed to what he witnessed from afar during his stint at Penn State.He recalls visiting Memorial Stadium for Illinois' first Big Ten game of 2023 – a 30-13 win for the Nittany Lions – and the progress the program made between then and the Illini's 21-7 defeat in Happy Valley last September. And the further progress even throughout 2024, when Illinois knocked off Michigan and wrapped up a 10-win season with a Citrus Bowl win over South Carolina.

"I think that's the learned experience of, how do you get in those games and then play better against quote-unquote top competition," Diaz said. "A lot of that, what I see from Illinois, is them ... [become] a better version of themselves. Which is exactly what we're trying to do here at Duke.

"I think that's why Bret's a great program-builder, and it's a great pathway or blueprint for what we're trying to accomplish here at Duke."