Bret Bielema addressed the media ahead of Illinois's home game against UNC Charlotte.

Bielema Quotes

On Charlotte...
"This game has to be about us. Being back in front of a home crowd, and our student section has been absolutely phenomenal."

On Kerby Joseph continued improvement...
"He's a live wire. He just lives life everyday. He came in yesterday with a pen and paper and wanted to know my takeaways from the game. We've seen a lot of improvement in the back end, which strengthens the defense as a whole."

On the QB situation...
"I would tell you BP wants to get better, but I also have to get better. Everyone has to get better. Even though we obviously won and have seen some successes in losses, as a unit we need to get better."

On Josh McCray...
"Josh didn't play against Nebraska because he wasn't ready. That decision engaged him to get himself better for the next week. We've built this thing up. On Saturday I thought, "Let's roll with this. Let's take the training wheels off... There were plays on Saturday where he wasn't specifically taught something, but his football DNA kicked in and made some big plays."

On offensive expectations...
"When you are switching guys in and out of the offense, you're looking for the right ingredients. I'm no 'Master Chef,' but I know what's good. The picture hasn't been as clean offensively for the staff, and the team we play this week is very dynamic defensively. However, we're playing in a Big Ten stadium, so we need to play a Big Ten game."