Indiana Football Dominates Illinois in Statement Win

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — When Indiana football exited the field for the final time in pre-game warmups Saturday night, coach Curt Cignetti was the last team member — be it player or coach — to walk through the glass doors and head into the locker room.

Less than 20 minutes later, Cignetti and his team walked through Memorial Stadium's North endzone tunnel to towels waving, fans screaming and a glass ceiling waiting to be broken.

The Hoosiers shattered it in the 60 minutes of game action that followed.

No. 19 Indiana (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) dominated No. 9 Illinois (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) on Saturday night, earning a 63-10 victory inside Memorial Stadium. The win marked Indiana's first over a top 10 team since 2020 and the highest-ranked victory of Cignetti's 17-game tenure.

Indiana redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza starred in his first Big Ten game, going 21-for-23 passing for 267 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.

Mendoza's first four touchdown throws went to different pass-catchers, as receivers Omar Cooper Jr., E.J. Williams Jr. and Elijah Sarratt and tight end Riley Nowakowski each hauled in scoring grabs. Sarratt caught his second touchdown with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Hoosiers' rushing game, which largely featured a two-man punch between redshirt seniors Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black before turning to redshirt freshman Khobie Martin late, proved dominant once again.

Indiana entered Saturday with the third-best rushing offense in the FBS, and it tallied 312 yards on the ground against the Fighting Illini, who boasted the 14th-best run defense in the FBS through three weeks.

The Hoosiers have rushed for 300-plus yards in each of their first four games this season.

Indiana's defense suffocated the Fighting Illini's offense. Apart from a three-play, 75-yard drive headlined by a 59-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Luke Altmyer to receiver Collin Dixon midway through the first quarter, Illinois recorded only 86 total yards of offense on its other 11 possessions.

Through its first 11 drives, Illinois had as many three-and-outs (seven) as first downs. The Hoosiers finished with seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss.

Indiana's special teams proved airtight, as well. All-American cornerback D'Angelo Ponds scored the Hoosiers' first touchdown after blocking and recovering a punt from Illinois senior Keelan Crimmins. Ponds' scoop-and-score sent Memorial Stadium's sea of red into a frenzy.

Punt returner Jonathan Brady added a 27-yard return in the third quarter to set up a touchdown. Kicker Nico Radicic made each of his nine extra points. Both of punter Quinn Warren's boots went 50-plus yards, one of which rolled to the Fighting Illini's 2-yard line.

Indiana's three-phase domination culminated in a statement win Saturday, building momentum the Hoosiers hope to carry into their 3:30 p.m. kickoff Sept. 28 against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium.