Well, well, well, Bret Bielema can very well try his luck as a fortune teller. After all, the Illinois HC startled college football fans with his on-point predictions. Before you get too confused, here’s some heads-up. Currently, Dan Lanning has been the talk of the town. All thanks to his 12-men penalty that came off as a genius intentional move. Right when it happened, Bielema was the one to drop in with his bold claim that it would not sit well with the NCAA. And guess what? The Illinois HC has been bang-on with his predictions. NCAA is now looking into the matter. How amazing, isn’t it? 

The Ducks and Illini are yet to face each other on October 26, but Bielema seems to be already in the mood to fuss with Lanning and Co. On October 12 Oregon crushed the Ohio State Buckeyes 32-21. As the score suggests, there has been a neck-to-neck fight. But what helped the Ducks to win? Well, Lanning is believed to have exploited a loophole in the NCAA’s rulebook near the end of Saturday’s game. And it’s time for Bielema to come out of his cocoon. He gave an interview for the Big Radio where the Illini HC started with, “It reminds me in 2006, there was a kickoff rule that started to kick with ba-l being kicked…so we had a end of half scenario against Penn State.. It literally changed the rule next week.”

This was the first thing that struck Bielema when Lanning’s squad called timeout and sent 12 defenders on the field with 10 seconds remaining as Ohio State drove into potential field-goal range. The result turned out to be in Ducks’ favor coming off as an incomplete pass that took four seconds off the clock. This is where the catch lies. Oregon traded five yards for less time. Things could have turned in the Buckeyes’ favor if they had an additional four seconds to call a timeout and attempt a game-winning field goal.

And this play did come off as an odd move for Bielema who further reconfirmed whether it was a foul. With this, he dropped a bold claim, “My guess is in the next four to five days.. There might be a rule change immediately to that situation.” Looks like the NCAA is now all set to revamp its rule book. 

Bret Bielema’s bold prediction sparks action

Did the NCAA buckle up after taking into account Bielema’s analysis? Well, the matter is currently under review by the NCAA Secretary Rules editor, Steve Shaw. He told Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports on October 15 that the Football Playing Rules Committee is sincerely “engaged” in scrutinizing the situation. 

Not only this, they are almost on the verge of introducing changes. Although they are confident of the fact that the officiating crew did not do anything wrong while handling the current rules. While the NCAA might ignore the loopholes, Lanning did not shy away from revealing his sly tactics. The Oregon HC confidently confirmed that the Ducks have exploited the rule during an interview.

“We spend an inordinate amount of time on situations, and there are some situations that don’t show up very often in college football, but this is one that obviously we have worked on. So you can see the result,” commented Dan Lanning. Now let’s see what new changes the NCAA drops in!