The wait is over. You can feel it in the air — Big Ten football is finally here. And Bloomington gets one of Week 4’s biggest showdowns as Curt Cignetti and the No. 19 Hoosiers prepare to clash with Bret Bielema’s No. 9 Fighting Illini under the lights Saturday night. Cig’s ready. His team’s ready. The question is: are you?
“First off, bigger picture, they’re a really good football team,” Cignetti said at his Monday press conference. “They’ve got a lot of good players, a lot of veteran players. Coach [Bret] Bielema does a great job, he and his staff in all three phases, offense, defense, special teams, veteran quarterback, have a lot of talent, very accurate, can extend plays. He’s won a bunch of games for Illinois. And that’s the one thing about Illinois, is they know what it takes, the success they had last year, returning a good nucleus of guys and added some new ones. Very much kind of like us, good core return that understands what it takes. So ought to be a great match-up, but impressed with [Luke] Altmyer.”
As expected, Cignetti had plenty to say about Illinois. Known for his film obsession, he’s likely logged countless hours breaking down Illini tape already. What he sees is a disciplined, veteran squad with a lot of similarities to his own program. He knows it’s going to be a grind, but at the end of the day, it’s still the next game on the schedule — and he’s treating it like business as usual.
Cignetti knows the Hoosiers’ path to victory starts with containing Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer. The junior has been sharp through three games, throwing for 709 yards at 71.8% with eight touchdowns. His ability to extend plays outside the pocket makes him dangerous, and collapsing that pocket will be priority No. 1 for Indiana’s defense.
Cignetti was quick to point out Duke’s ability to limit Illinois in the first half of their matchup before turning the ball over multiple times and letting the game get out of hand. That’s why ball security will be a key point of emphasis this week, on both sides of the ball. Indiana must protect possessions on offense while creating turnovers on defense, especially since the Illini haven’t coughed the ball up once this season.
But Altmyer isn’t the only weapon. Illinois wideout Hank Beatty has emerged as a go-to playmaker. “He’s their leading receiver, spreads the ball around, good player, good ball skills, movement skills,” Cignetti relayed. “As far as a punt returner, hang time always helps, get the coverage time to get down there and do a great job with our coverage and tackle in space.”
Beatty’s numbers back up the praise: 19 catches for 289 yards and a score already, plus six punt returns for 152 yards and a touchdown. He’s fast, elusive, and capable of flipping a game on a single play. Whether lined up at receiver or fielding punts, Beatty is exactly the type of player who can wreck a defensive game plan if left unchecked.
When it comes to Illinois’ defense, Cignetti seems to know exactly what he’s up against. “They morphed a little bit schematically starting with the bowl game last year against South Carolina in some of their coverage packages,” he explained. “And they carried that on into this season. Multiple personnel groupings, defensively 4-2-5, 5-1-5, 5-2-4, 4-1-6 and others.
They did a nice job of disguising coverage, nice disguises. They play a lot of guys. A lot of good players running to the ball. They have a lot of hats to the football. Put pressure on the quarterback, tight coverage. Really tied together well. Good players.”
That unit has already forced six turnovers this season, and they thrive on disrupting rhythm. For Indiana, that means Coach Cignetti and Offensive Coordinator Mike Shanahan need to make sure they’re on their A game this week in preparing this Hoosiers offense to face off against a tricky Illinois defense. Ball security and execution will be everything against a defense that punishes mistakes.
No. 19 Indiana and No. 9 Illinois will meet Saturday night under the lights at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., and Bloomington is expected to be buzzing. With Big Ten play finally here, the Hoosiers will have their chance to prove they belong in the thick of the conference race.