Indiana Stuns No. 9 Illinois: 5 Key Stats from the Blowout

There are certain nights fan bases will never forget for all the right reasons and Saturday night was one of those for the Indiana Hoosiers. Hosting No. 9 Illinois, Indiana had one of its biggest home games in program history and boy did it deliver in a massive way.

An early blocked punt got the scoring started for Indiana and aside from a broken coverage on the following possession, the Hoosiers never took their foot off the gas against the Fighting Illini.

The win moves Indiana to 4-0 and was dominating enough that the nation won't have a choice but to be paying attention to them as the leaves start to fall and temperatures begin to drop.

What went right for Indiana on Saturday night, besides pretty much everything? Here are five numbers that tell the story of Indiana's dominating victory.

Indiana Dominates Rushing Attack: 312-2

Khobie Martin of Indian — Sep 12, 2025; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers running back Khobie Martin (28) runs for a touchdown during the second half against the Indiana State Sycamores at Memorial Stadium. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

In all my years of watching football, which is over 30 at this point, I can't recall one game between ranked opponents being as dominated as Saturday's was by Indiana. Nowhere was it moreso than in the running game as Indiana outgained Illinois 312-2 on the ground.

Curt Cignetti mentioned after the game that he thought Indiana broke Illinois' will in the win. Nowhere would that be more evident than in the running game discrepency.

Fernando Mendoza's Big Night: 17-Straight Completions

Fernando Mendoza throws a ass against Illinois in 202 — Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (15) passes during the Indiana versus Illinois football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Fernando Mendoza continues to impress as Indiana's quarterback and might just find himself in the Heisman Trophy conversation if he continues. Mendoza started hot Saturday and completed 17-straight passes at one point before finishing the night 21 of 23 passing for 267 yards and five touchdowns.

Indiana Dominates Illinois Up Front: 7 Sacks

Curt Cignetti said after the game that, after watching the tape of the Illinois game at Duke, that he felt good about the Hoosiers' chances of whipping the Illinois offensive line. That's exactly what they did and then some, recording seven sacks on the night and forcing Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer to scramble and throw the ball away several times.

Indiana on Money Downs: 9 of 11 to Illinois' 1 of 10

On third and fourth downs, Indiana was an astounding 9 of 11 combined. That's what happens when you can pretty much run the ball at will, like Indiana did, as it faced short-yardage situations most of the evening. Indiana was on-time while Illinois was playing from behind and that showed itself in the third and fourth down numbers.

Indiana Football Attendance Record: 55,088

A new program record for attendance. pic.twitter.com/7CqmBGMOjK
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) September 21, 2025

Curt Cignetti said after the game Saturday that he went out of his way to be vocal after being hired with the hope of firing up the Indiana fan base. 17 games into his 15-2 tenure as Indiana head coach, its safe to say he's done more than just woken up a starving fan base, he's turned Hoosiers football into something nobody in their right minds thought possible even a year ago.

As a result, the fans are coming out in masses and will continue to do so as the bar has clearly been raised.