Some would argue Illinois coach Bret Bielema’s comments from earlier this week regarding Penn State were taken out of context.
But Penn State decided to have a little fun, anyway.
About 10 minutes before the kickoff, a video of Bielema’s “White Out energy” quip he made during Monday’s presser was played on the Beaver Stadium Jumbotrons.
Penn State ran the clip of Illinois HC Bret Bielema’s “White Out energy” quip.
Kickoff less than 10 minutes away. pic.twitter.com/Zqz6jTsBLA
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) September 28, 2024
After that, a Penn State cheerleader began the team’s entrance by urging the crowd to show Illinois what “White Out Energy” means.
“They’re calling for ‘White Out Energy,’ Bielema said. “Whatever the hell that means.”
This was in response to Penn State coach James Franklin coining the term after Saturday’s 56-0 win over Kent State.
Overall, the Illinois boss spoke highly of Penn State during his presser.
He complimented Franklin and the current team during his opening statement, and spoke with great respect about Penn State’s tradition during the answer that featured the White Out quip.
Bielema described Penn State as having “such an incredible crowd.”
“I’ve been in the Big Ten a long time,” he said. “But for me as a GA to see that for the first time was really overwhelmingly amazing. It’s kind of like a spaceship out in the middle of nowhere.”
“Their fans are intelligent. They have tradition, very similar to Nebraska. They’re been doing this for a long time. Penn State fans are accustomed to great football.”
Bielema coached against Joe Paterno several times and remembers hearing a speech from the legend.
“He was talking about uniforms, he goes ‘I don’t like our uniforms,’ but, he goes, everybody knows it’s Penn State. And I just have that in my mind of what this program has been built on.”
Biemela also remembered being on a Nike coach’s trip and seeing Penn State legend Franco Harris, who had come to see Sue Paterno in Hawaii after Joe had passed away.
“That’s the ultimate,” he said. “Of a player who had come to see a coach’s wife, I was like, ‘that’s a sign of the program.’ So huge respect for that. That’s pretty cool.”
A lot of focus was spent on Bielema’s “White Out Energy” comment, and the coach wasn’t too happy about that.
and took to social media Tuesday afternoon express his frustration.
The world we live in today where it’s easy to pick what you want to hear instead of what’s really been said,” Bielema wrote. “Respect is awesome because it can never be bought or faked… it can only be earned. This ENTIRE clip should give an understanding of what I think…. #famILLy #ILL.
