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Bret and the Illini are so, so close

What an effort by the Illini in Ann Arbor.

Illinois did what very few teams are able to do in college football — they went into the Big House and battled Michigan until the very end.

Unfortunately, they fell just short, 19-17, thanks to a heartbreaking Jake Moody field goal with 9 seconds to play.

As painful as it was to leave empty-handed, this game displayed how far the program has come — and how close they are — to truly breaking through under Bret Bielema.

We saw Illinois lose back-to-back games on its home field.