Asmussen | Johnny's spot remains on the bench ... until the second half

Oct. 25—CHAMPAIGN — On Nov. 4, the Minnesota offense catches a break ... for a half.

But at about 4:30 p.m. that day at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Illinois star Johnny Newton will again be eligible to play. The Gophers' offensive linemen, quarterbacks and running backs have been warned.

Heck, Newton might even tackle mascot Goldy the Gopher.

Newton's suspension for targeting in last Saturday's 25-21 homecoming loss against Wisconsin was upheld by the NCAA this week, Illinois coach Bret Bielema confirmed on Wednesday.

By rule, the violation in the fourth quarter mandates Newton sit out the first half of the next game. In this case, at Minnesota.

Illinois appealed Newton's suspension to no avail.

"Already done and denied," Bielema said at the Smith Center. "It is what it is."

Bielema got the word from the NCAA on Tuesday and talked to Newton that night.

"You saw how much it hurt him during the course of the game," Bielema said.

After the play, Newton put his hands to his head with an "oh-no" look.

"My appeal was obviously that he used his hands in some fashion," Bielema said. "But I understand why it got called and I understand why we're standing here today. We've just got to move forward."

Bielema said the team talks regularly to the defensive linemen about what to do when they have a clear path to the quarterback.

"Thankfully, we haven't had any of these," Bielema said. "Johnny has had over 100 pressures and has never been anywhere close to this. Johnny had no intention of anything more than he saw ball, he knew he could get it out. Unfortunately, that was a play that could have changed the whole direction of the game in a positive way. We've just got to bite it and move on."

Bielema was on the coaching committee when the targeting rules were first put in place.

"The main thing is we want to curb the behavior of our student-athletes in the name of player safety," the Illinois coach said. "I think the game has changed dramatically, how they launch, how they use their head. People recognize when it happens."

Bielema was emotional after the loss to Wisconsin, talking about what the loss of Newton meant to his team.

He had conversations with the Big Ten office afterward. As he often does.

How did it go?

"This is my 10th year in the league as a head coach," he said. "I think every coach gets off the field on Saturday and you're going to see things through a different lens.

"What I try to do is take the perspective of, 'Hey, what do I see during the game?' I make evaluations of what I see on Sunday (looking at the tape). On the whole, I would say we usually turn in three, four, five plays."

In the news

Bielema is aware of the sign-stealing allegations against Michigan football, currently being investigated.

There is an easy fix, which the NFL already uses: in-helmet communication.

"One of the first conversations I had with (new Big Ten commissioner) Tony Pettitti is in-helmet communications," Bielema said.

Bielema is on his third head coaching job, following stops at Wisconsin and Arkansas. His mentors set a standard.

"I've been very blessed," he said. "I learned under Hayden Fry to Kirk Ferentz to Barry Alvarez, worked with Bill Snyder at Kansas State and one of the things I learned when I was working with those guys is you have to have a reputation and a feeling within our league that everybody else is going to abide by what you think are the rules."

Healthy return

While Newton will miss the first half against the Gophers, his running mate at tackle, Keith Randolph Jr., is expected to play for Illinois (3-5, 1-4 Big Ten). Randolph missed the Maryland and Wisconsin games with a leg injury.

Running back Reggie Love III, who has been out three games this season, is also expected to return against Minnesota (4-3, 2-2), which first plays Michigan State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Minneapolis before hosting the Illini a week later.

"I would think Reggie and Keith have a very good chance to be back for Minnesota week," Bielema said. "We're not going to push them into this week."

Back to work

Though they don't have a game this week, the Illini are still practicing. The team was on the turf at Memorial Stadium for the first half of Wednesday's session before moving to the Irwin Indoor Practice Facility.

"Our ones went the first hour of the practice, got a lot of wet-ball work," Bielema said. "I have a feeling down the stretch here in the last four games of the regular season, we're going to find some weather along the way."

Bielema sees the open week as a chance for his players to rest and recover from the aches and pains that are part of the season.

"Obviously, take an inventory of your two-deep and (developmental) guys and try to push them and make them develop in this off week as much as we can," Bielema said. "Make them feel the urgency of the game week."

The third item for Bielema during the open week is analyze the individuals players, units and the team.

After eight games, what does he see?

"Without a doubt, things offensively, short-yardage, being able to put points on the board in certain phases of the game, those two jump out," Bielema said.

He met with offensive coordinator Bary Lunney Jr. and defensive coordinator Aaron Henry on Sunday and gave them specific items to consider.

Penalties and big plays have been a major talking point for both.

Bielema has been on the road recruiting since Sunday afternoon. He has been in six states so far with the plan to leave again Thursday.

"We were in a certain region in the country these last three days and will be in a different region this week," Bielema said.

He is checking in with some of the players who have already made commitments to the program. The team currently has 17 commits for the 2024 class that is ranked No. 48 nationally by Rivals.com.

While Bielema is traveling to whereabouts unknown, the players will be in C-U for the lone open week of the season. After Thursday's workout and a lift Friday, the players are off until reconvening on Sunday.

"I'm encouraging them Friday night to do something they normally don't get to do, whether it's watch a high school football game," Bielema said. "They should enjoy college football on Saturday, watch some of their buddies, teams that we're going to play."