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Jul. 24—INDIANAPOLIS — Seth Coleman didn’t have to stress to dip into his memory of the final minutes of last season’s game against Wisconsin and the one moment that he felt changed the outcome.
Coleman might have been nine months removed from that late October showdown with the Badgers at Memorial Stadium, but the memory was fresh as the veteran outside linebacker recalled it Tuesday afternoon at Big Ten media days.
It was an example of the type of in-game scenario — a seemingly minor detail — that had significant consequences.
A late substitution between Coleman and Ezekiel Holmes in the closing minutes of the game forced Illinois coach Bret Bielema to call a timeout. The impact was two-fold.
Wisconsin was able to draw up a play to extend a series that ended in the go-ahead touchdown pass from Braedyn Locke to Nolan Rucci. It also ensured Illinois was out of timeouts, as it tried to piece together its own, ultimately unsuccessful, scoring drive.
The end result? A 25-21 Wisconsin win. Another game decided by a touchdown or less in the Bielema era.
“That was a critical moment in the game,” Coleman said. “We go over situational football a lot with Coach B. in our team meetings. Those small details, they really, really matter. For real. I can’t stress it enough. They really do.”
That’s something Bielema said he didn’t feel like he stressed enough to his team last fall. The Illinois coach thought that lesson had been learned — ingrained enough — in 2022 after the team’s 7-1 start was followed by an eight-point loss to Michigan State, a seven-point loss to Purdue and a two-point loss at then-No. 3 Michigan. A three-game stretch that cost the Illini a Big Ten West title.
“Last year I don’t know if, for players and coaches, I put the fundamentals of what we really are in them hard enough,” Bielema said. “I just…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/turning-tide-close-games-2024-144800491.html
Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Publish date : 2024-07-24 14:48:00
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