Illinois football’s best season in years is a tribute to a beloved squirrel named Pinto Bean

Teams can find inspiration in a variety of ways. They can find it in disrespect from the media. They can find it in the words of an opponent before a game. They can find it through the support of their fans. They can find it through the powerful words of their coaches before the game.

They can find it in the loss of a beloved squirrel.

For Illinois, that is exactly what played out Saturday. Locked in a critical contest against Minnesota, with first place in the Big Ten West on the line, the Illini emerged victorious, and paid tribute to Pinto Bean, a beloved squirrel that lived on campus, in the process.

Pinto Bean was a rare piebald squirrel that lived on campus, nicknamed Pinto Bean due to a rare genetic mutation that resulted in a unique pattern of fur. Pinto Bean’s fur was a mixture of normal fur, and unpigmented white spots:

Pinto Bean became a celebrity on Illinois’ campus, with students and faculty often posting photographs of the squirrel on the Illinois subreddit. According to Eric Schauber, the Director of the Illinois Natural History Survey, a unique squirrel like this is often bound to become a celebrity:

“People pay attention to squirrels on college campuses, and cities in general can be places where these squirrels with more unusual colors either get noticed or survive better because they have fewer predators,” he said. “Whenever you have an individual animal that is unique in some way, it’s natural for people to relate to it.”

Pinto Bean met its demise this week, presumably struck by a vehicle near campus. The tributes quickly followed.

The school’s Wildlife and Conservation Club held a moment of silence for Pinto Bean during their meeting on Thursday, and their President, Marrina White, outlined what the squirrel meant to the club, and the greater campus community. “We loved Pinto Bean, we were invested in it,” White said. “Anything we can do to help preserve it and help promote education about this kind of stuff is just what we do. It’s our passion.”

Another member of the Wildlife and Conservation Club retrieved Pinto Bean, and has begun the process of preserving the animal through a taxidermist.

Tributes also poured in on the school’s subreddit, with one post reading: “Hope you’re getting the best acorns in the afterlife buddy.”

During the Illini’s game against Minnesota on Saturday, the school paid tribute to their beloved campus celebrity:

Fans quickly noticed the tribute to the fallen campus celebrity:

In the middle of all this, the Illini still had a game to play. Illinois entered Saturday ranked 24th in the nation, with a 5-1 record overall and a 2-1 mark in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers started their day with a 4-1 overall record, and a 1-1 conference record. The Illini got on the board first, as running back Chase Brown leaked out of the backfield after a run fake, and quarterback Tommy DeVito hit him in stride for the 40-yard score:

The score was 13-7 at halftime, with the Illini in the lead, but Minnesota struck quickly in the second half. While most fans at Memorial Stadium were just returning to their seats, Minnesota’s Quentin Redding returned the opening kickoff 92 yards, and with a horse collar penalty tacked on at the end of the big return, the Golden Gophers began the second half deep in Illini territory.

Talented running back Mohamed Ibrahim plunged in from four yards out on the next play to help Minnesota take their first lead of the game. The running back also went over 100 rushing yards on the day, extending his streak of games with 100+ rushing yards to 14, the active longest streak in the FBS.

Illinois quickly responded, putting together a drive of their own, one capped off by DeVito as he kept the ball around the left edge on this short touchdown run, putting the Illini back in front:

Illinois would tack on a field goal to take a 23-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. That is when Minnesota was forced to turn to redshirt freshman quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, after Tanner Morgan was knocked from the game with an injury. The freshman passer drove the Golden Gophers into Illini territory, but that is when Jer’Zhan Newton, one of the top defensive lineman in the nation, made his presence felt:

Minnesota would eventually punt, giving the Illini the football back on their own 20-yard line, with just over ten minutes remaining. Illinois worked the clock on their ensuing possession, driving down deep into Golden Gophers’ territory, when Minnesota started burning their timeouts with just over four minutes remaining. They eventually converted another field goal, with kicker Fabrizio Pinton splitting the uprights with his fourth field goal of the game, pushing Illinois’ lead to 26-14.

Any hope of a last-minute miracle from the Golden Gophers was dashed on their next offensive play, as Quan Martin picked off Kaliakmanis to seal the victory:

With the 26-14 win, the Illini kept themselves atop the Big Ten West, improving to 6-1 overall, and 3-1 in the Big Ten. This is the first season where Illinois has been ranked since 2011, when they reached 16th in the polls after a 6-0 start, only to crash back to earth thanks to six-straight losses. Right now, however, it looks like Bret Bielema is pushing all the right buttons.

Could Illinois keep themselves in the Big Ten picture the rest of the way? Consider this. After their bye week next week, they play at Nebraska, then home against Michigan State, and then home against Purdue. Their next three games are against teams that entered play on Saturday with a combined 9-9 record at the moment, one of which has already fired their head coach.

That could set up a massive game in Ann Arbor just before Thanksgiving, with the Illini traveling to Michigan to take on the Wolverines.

Giving them perhaps another chance to pay homage to their beloved campus mascot, Pinto Bean.