#22 Excel H Sports Ranked Hoosiers Dismantle #8 Excel H Sports Ranked Illini
By Nick Jenkinson/Excel H Sports
Photos by: Eric Thieszen, Thieszen Photo Creations/Excel H Sports
The #22 Excel H Sports Ranked Indiana Hoosiers dismantled the #8 Excel H Sports Ranked Illinois Fighting Illini 63-10 in front of a sold-out crowd of 56,088 on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium Saturday Night. The Hoosiers wanted to show the nation under the lights and nationally televised game on NBC that last year’s trip to the College Football Playoff was not a one hit wonder and they are going to be in the conversation as a ranked team and they shined on the big stage at home and dominated a team ranked in the Excel H Sports top 10 rankings racking up 579 yards of total offense and holding the Fighting Illini to 161 yards of total offense.
This was the first top 20 matchup in Bloomington since October 20th, 1987, when the 15th ranked Hoosiers beat 20th ranked Michigan 14-10. This marked the sixth game ever in Bloomington between two top 20 teams and just the second time the Hoosiers and the Fighting Illini faced off as ranked opponents with the first coming in 1950 in Champaign when the #12 Fighting Illini beat the #20 Hoosiers 20-0 on October 28.
Indiana scored first when D’Angelo Ponds blocked Keelan Crimmins’ punt at the 11 Yard line and Ponds picked it up and scored a touchdown to put the Hoosiers up 7-0 with 9:26 left in the first quarter to make it 7-0 Hoosiers. Illinois responded on the next drive with Luke Altmeyer finding a wide-open Collin Dixon on a 59-yard strike as the Hoosiers broke down on their defensive coverage with 8:24 left in the first quarter to tie the game 7-7.
Indiana controlled the rest of the first half by outscoring Illinois 28-3 to make to go into the locker room 35-7 at halftime. Fernando Mendoza threw four first half touchdown passes to Omar Cooper Jr., E.J. Williams Jr., Riley Nowakowski and Elijah Sarratt.
Mendoza completed 15 of his 17 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. Indiana outgained Illinois 279-146 and held the Fighting Illini to 3 yards on the ground while the Hoosiers had 59 yards on the ground. David Olano kicked a 46-yard field goal with no time left to end the first quarter.
Indiana added four more touchdowns in the second half. Fernando Mendoza found Elijah Sarratt for the second time on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 5:02 left in the third quarter. Mendoza was replaced by his younger brother Alberto to start the fourth quarter. Fernando completed 21 of his 23 passes for 267 yards and 5 touchdowns and no interceptions.
On the season the California Transfer has 76 of his 99 passes for 975 yards with 14 touchdown passes and rushing for 2 more and no interceptions on the season. Mendoza becomes the first Big Ten Quarterback since Ohio State’s CJ Stroud in 2022 to throw at least four touchdown passes in three straight games.
Illinois pressured Mendoza, sacking him twice as the Indiana Offensive line as done a great job of protecting the Quarterback with three sacks through four games. Kaelon Black scored on a 40-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Khobie Martin added a pair of touchdown runs.
The Hoosiers get their largest margin of victory for the Illini and score the most points against their western border rivals in series history. Indiana scored 52 points on the Illini on November 9, 2013, when the Hoosiers won 52-35. Illinois leads the all-time series 46-26-2 but the Hoosiers lead have won five of the last six meetings dating back to 2012.
Indiana ran over the Illini 312-2 and sacked Illinois Quarterback Luke Altmeyer seven times. Illinois punted 9 times and backup quarterback Ethan Hampton was picked off by Amare Farrell in the fourth quarter. Luke Altmeyer completed 14 of his 22 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown and did not throw an interception.
Hampton threw for 13 yards competing 2 of his 3 passes. Illinois was without Cornerback Xavier Scott due to injury and lost leading tackler Miles Scott due to a targeting penalty on Omar Cooper Jr. in the second quarter which mean an automatic ejection.
Indiana’s Khobie Martin ran 12 times for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns and it’s his second 100 yard plus rushing game and did it all in the second half. Kaelon Black ran 10 times for 89 yards and a touchdown as the Hoosiers had seven different ball carries get touches and are without Lee Bebee Jr for the rest of the season due to a non-contact knee injury he suffered in last week’s 73-0 win over Indiana State.
Elijah Sarratt caught 9 passes for 92 yards, and 2 touchdowns and Omar Copper Jr. added 6 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown pass as Mendoza threw to five different receivers. The Hoosiers had 31 first downs to 9 for Illinois and scored five times in the red zone.
Indiana went 8-10 on third down conversions and 1-1 on fourth down conversions. Indiana scored 8 times, including seven in a row only punting twice in the first half and ending the game with the ball in their possession.
The Hoosiers are 1-0 in the Big Ten and now travel to Iowa next week to face a Hawkeye squad who is 3-1 and 1-0 in the Big Ten after a 38-28 win at Rutgers Friday Night. Illinois is 3-1 and 0-1 in the Big Ten and hosts USC next week.
Indiana wanted to prove with all eyes on them under the lights and a sold-out crowd that the Indiana Hoosiers are not the Indiana Hoosiers that used to struggle and had a winning season every so often.
Curt Cignetti has come here and built this team into a contender and now back-to-back seasons with a 4-0 record since Bill Mallory in 1985-86 the Hoosiers showed they are ready for the bright lights and did not take their foot of the gas against an Illinois team and dominated in every aspect of this game.
Indiana is now hitting the road for the first time this season and if the Hoosiers beat Iowa the College Football Playoff is in sight once again and longtime Indiana Football Fans nobody ever thought that was possible but this is a new era of Indiana University Football that is winning and wants to keep on winning and it all starts with Curt Cignetti and his winning mentality and turning around football programs.
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