Coach Bret Bielema and coordinators Barry Lunney Jr. and Aaron Henry were available Monday afternoon prior to

Saturday’s game between Illinois and Michigan State. Here’s some of what was said, courtesy of writer Scott Richey:

The margin of error is small

It’s not lost on Bielema that LSU, Louisville and South Carolina — all 6-3 teams — were ranked in the most recent Associated Press Top 25 poll at no. 21-23. Illinois is also 6-3, with two of those losses coming to teams now ranked No. 1 in Oregon and No. 4 in Penn State. That makes what happened the last time the Illini were on the field sting a little more. Taking their third loss to Minnesota, Illinois dropped Illinois out of the AP Top 25 and, as it happened, out of contention for the top seed in the College Football Playoff.

“I’m not ignorant of the fact that if we were able to convert a score at the end of that Minnesota game and pull that out, as a 7-2 football team, we’d probably be somewhere in the top 14. now on the foundation of our strong program compared to everyone else out there,” Bielema said. “That’s close.”

The following men at middle linebacker

Dylan Rosiek’s season-ending surgery to repair his fractured leg went well, which was good news for Illinois. But it was still an end-of-season operation. The Illini will be without one of their team captains and one of their top defensive players for the rest of the year. Rosiek is Illinois’ leading tackler, forcing a pair of fumbles and making the game-ending plays in both of the Illini’s overtime wins against Nebraska and Purdue.

“It almost has to be by committee, but we have a lot of confidence in the guys that are around him and behind him,” Henry said, noting while Ryan Meed, James Kreutz, Malachi Hood and Kenenna Odeluga. “I think it’s been by committee all year. You don’t necessarily have to have one person for its production. You try to have a group of men do that.”

Playing an uptempo offense

Luke Altmyer and Pat Bryant both expressed a preference for Illinois’ uptempo offense after the team’s Nov. 2 loss at Minnesota. Specifically the pace the Illini play with in two and two minute situations. This is where the Illinois quarterback and his top receiver feel the offense is most effective. Where they have the most comfort.

“We always have an element of tempo in our game and in our game plan,” Lunney said. “When we go into the two-minute mode, which we did before the end of the half and the end of the game, that’s a different tempo. They’ve had a lot of experience in the two-minute mode and the end-of-half mode, and we have a deck that allows us to play quickly within the game. That’s something we’ll continue to carry as we mix up our tempos.”