Make no mistake: Bret Bielema’s Illini have arrived

Saturday night’s gutsy win in front of a sea of orange delivered a resounding message: The losing ways of Illinois football are a thing of the past.

Last week, Bret Bielema walked into Madison and brought Illinois its first win at Camp Randall Stadium since 2002. This week, he snapped an 8-game losing streak against Iowa dating back to 2008.

Bielema was hired in large part because of his track record of knowing how to win in the rugged Big Ten West. That’s exactly what we’ve witnessed the last two weeks in statement victories over Wisconsin and Iowa, the kings of the West over the past decade. In turning the tide on these one-sided rivalries, Illinois has used the blueprint that past teams…