Opponent: Illinois Fighting Illini
Location: Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Why They Played:
The Hoosiers and Illini meet in an early season Big Ten clash. It is the 75th all-time meeting.
What The Game Meant for Indiana
This game was circled by everyone months ago when the schedule came out. This was a statement game for IU on national television, that SHOULD get the attention of the “experts”.
Heartwork Brewing Players of the Game
Offense
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana-. Mendoza was nearly perfect on the night completing 21-of-23 passes for 267 yards and five touchdowns. He is 40-of-43 with 537 yards and 10 touchdowns his last two games.
Roman Hemby, RB, Indiana– Hemby’s game has gone unnoticed by many, but the transfer running back did it all on Saturday night. He totaled 102 yards and had a couple big plays in the pass game.
Defense
IU Defensive Line– The Indiana defensive line dominated and that was without Mikail Kamara registering a stat (hard to make plays when you’re in a head lock). The line, led by Mario Landino and Tyrique Tucker accounted for 4.5 sacks and five tackles for loss. When they weren’t bringing the ball carrier down, they applied pressure and allowed others to clean it up.
Indiana Special Teams Performance
Special teams got the party started in Bloomington as All-American cornerback D’Angelo Ponds blocked a punt and returned for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. There were three or four momentum changing plays on special teams that really changed the game. Punter Quinn Warren pinned Illinois down at the two-yard line and Jonathan Brady had two returns for 27 yards. Nico Radicic was a perfect nine-of-nine on extra points and Brendan Franke is a touchback machine.
Key Stat(s)
56,088
Indiana set a Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium attendance record Saturday night with 56,088 fans. It was packed at least 30 minutes before kickoff. The crowd was worked into a frenzy and caused an Illinois spiral that was unrecoverable.
Turning Point
The turning point was when Curt Cignetti changed his mind and decided to go for it on fourth-and-one on the drive immediately following Illinois’ touchdown drive.
“I think they had 12 on the field. I threw the punt team out there. I was a little torn what to do. And kind of had a déjà vu of about 14 years ago once that happened. Cignetti explained. “We elected to go for it at that point and converted. And that was a pretty big play.”
I Knew it Was Over When…
IU scored on their first possession of the second half to make it 42-10. Illinois had cut the lead to 35-10 right before halftime. IU took the ball right down the field for a big run by Kaelon Black for a 40-yard touchdown.
What I take away From the Game
That was total domination. Outside of a blown assignment by Drew Evans on the first drive and a miscommunication in the secondary that led to a 59-yard touchdown pass IU stepped on the neck of the Illini and never let up.
IU got their top-10 win under Cignetti and reintroduced themselves on the national stage with authority. IU did what it wanted, when it wanted and however they wanted. Fernando Mendoza was surgical throwing the ball and looks to have hit another level in his game. It helps to have so many weapons to use as well. Each IU starting receiver had a touchdown, tight end Riley Nowakoski had a 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown and running back Roman Hemby showed how good he can be in the passing game.
The IU offensive line abused Illinois, keeping Mendoza relatively clean and paving the way for 312 yards on the ground.
On the other side of the ball, Indiana’s defense made Illinois quit. They were relentless in coming after quarterback Luke Altmeyer and held Hank Beatty in check. After the early bust, IU moved on and just flat out steamrolled Illinois.
The Hoosiers will be back in the College Football Playoff discussion this week, as they should be (should have been?). It’s still early, but IU’s path to the Playoff is laid out for them now. The path is visible.
What’s Next
IU travels to Iowa (3-1) on Saturday, September 27th at 3:30pm at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa is coming off their best performance of the year and will be ready to throw some water on IU’s flames.