BLOOMINGTON, Indiana — No. 19 Indiana outplayed No. 9 Illinois in both team’s first Big Ten game of the season with a 63-10 victory. The Illini suffered their first loss of the season while the Hoosiers continued a four-game win streak.
Takeaways
Illinois: Illinois did not look like a top 10 team in the league. The Illini were unable to get down the field and froze against the Hoosiers’ defense. Senior quarterback Luke Altmyer was sacked seven times throughout the game. Altmyer and the offense struggled to get to the endzone and punted the ball nine times, which forced the defense to play on its heels. An early ejection call on senior defensive back Miles Scott had Illinois stretching thin in their secondary. Illinois essentially could not find a response to Indiana’s offensive or defensive play.
Indiana: Heading into this game, Indiana was riding a hot scoring streak, and it was evident that the team was not going to let Illinois hit pause. Newly transferred junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza had four passing touchdowns within the first half. The Hoosiers were up 35-10 at halftime and nearly doubled the scoreboard at the end of the game. Everything went the Hoosiers’ way, and Mendoza was able to end the game with 267 passing yards and five touchdowns.
Key moment
Indiana set the tone early for this blowout win against Illinois. Indiana was able to force Illinois to punt on their first drive, the first time the Illini had to do that this season. Once the second drive started, Illinois struggled to get any positive yards. After being tackled for a loss multiple times, Illinois was faced with another fourth down. Thinking the team had a clear lane to punt, Illinois attempted to kick the ball away, but Indiana had other plans. Hoosier junior defensive back D’Angelo Ponds attacked and blocked the punt. Ponds was able to scoop up the ball and score an 11-yard touchdown for the first score of the game. Although Illinois was able to score a 60-yard touchdown, Indiana took complete control of the game.
Key Stat
The way Indiana won this ball game was by controlling the ball on the ground. Indiana combined for more than 300 rushing yards, more than double Illinois’ entire offense. Indiana ended the day with 312 rushing yards, while Illinois only had two rushing yards the entire game. Indiana dominated Illinois on all three sides of the game.
Up Next
Illinois will host No. 25 University of Southern California on Saturday at 11 a.m. Next week, Illinois will be celebrating homecoming week, bolstering the hope for a win in front of the gathered alumni.