CHAMPAIGN -- Bret Bielema spent some time Saturday night at the Champaign Country Club.
Celebrating his team's win against Michigan over a dinner with his family and friends.
The Illinois football coach was also keeping close tabs on what was happening at the same time in Austin, Texas.
Bielema had left Memorial Stadium after the Illini's 21-7 victory against then-No. 24 Michigan knowing this Saturday's game at Oregon got a little bigger.
Just how big was amplified late Saturday night when Georgia doubled up Texas for a 30-15 upset on the Longhorns' home turf.
"We were kind of watching that unfold, and I'm like, 'Well, looks like we're going to play No. 1,' because that had to happen," Bielema said.
Georgia's win knocked Texas from its status as the No. 1 team in the country in the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, with unbeaten Oregon (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) sliding into the top spot. Illinois (6-1, 3-1) moved up two spots in the poll and sits at No. 20 before its trip later this week to Eugene, Ore.
"I think it's an awesome thing," Bielema said Monday afternoon. "We've got to know that's the No. 1 team in the country. There's a reason they're No. 1. They're a very good football team and they execute very, very well, but how we play is going to be in our hands and how we plan is in our preparation. I think that part doesn't change very much."
Bielema said ignoring the moment -- and the opportunity -- of playing the top-ranked Ducks at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Autzen Stadium would be "silly."
It's not something that happens all that often. Now in his 16th season leading a program, Bielema has coached against the No. 1 team in the country six times. He split a pair of games against Ohio State in 2007 and 2010 while at Wisconsin and went 0-4 in similar opportunities at Arkansas, with three losses to Alabama and one to Dak Prescott-led Mississippi State.
Illinois has had fewer such opportunities in the same time span as Bielema's coaching career. The Illini's last game against the No. 1 team was its 28-21 win at Ohio State in 2007. Illinois' last six games, eight of the last nine and nine of the 15 total against No. 1 featured the Buckeyes. Illinois is 3-12 overall in those games, with the other wins against the No. 1 team happening in 1950 when Illinois beat Ohio State 14-7 in Champaign and then six years later when the Illini rallied for a 20-13 victory against Michigan State in 1956 in Champaign.
"Even when I was at Wisconsin and we were rolling and winning three straight Big Ten titles, I didn't get to play No. 1 very often," Bielema said. "A chance to play the No. 1 team in the country is always special. We knew Oregon, going into this season, was going to have a very good football team however it played out when we made this trip."
Playing at Oregon only intensifies the challenge. Autzen Stadium might be dwarfed by other Big Ten football venues given its size, but it has a reputation bigger than it's 54,000-seat capacity. Ohio State found out two weeks ago when then-No. 3 Oregon eked out a 32-31 victory against the then-No. 2 Buckeyes in front of 60,129 fans, the biggest crowd in the venue's 67-year history.
Illinois already has some "raucous crowd" reps under its belt this season with trips to Nebraska (an overtime win in front of 86,936) and Penn State (a loss in front of 109,911) in consecutive weeks last month.
"Absolutely, that's going to be priority No. 1 for us to handle the environment," Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. said. "We've had two road games that have gone in very loud environments. This will be its own unique experience. I've never been there, but I know a lot of people that have. Everybody, from A to Z, talks about how loud the environment is. Maybe the loudest place in the country. If not, it's one of for sure."
The team that calls Autzen Stadium home ups the difficulty level for Illinois, too. Oregon has a top 15 defense -- both in yards and points allowed -- and a top 20 offense led by a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
"We've got a huge test in front of us -- a massive test in the Oregon Ducks," Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry said. "They are talented everywhere on the field. A lot of times, you can pinpoint it going into a game where you think you can take advantage of them here or there. This team is well balanced. They run the ball at a high clip. They throw it a high clip.
"The quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, he does a tremendous job of managing that offense. I'm sure he's probably being talked about in regards to the Heisman for a reason. He's put up ridiculous numbers against some really good opponents."