Coach Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers welcomed No. 9 Illinois to Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium Saturday night, and proceeded to dismantle and demolish the Illini from the start.
The 19th-ranked Hoosiers piled up 579 yards of total offense, including a fourth straight game of 300 yards-plus on the ground, in a 63-10 win in front of 56,088.
Fernando Mendoza completed 21-of-23 passes for 267 yards and five touchdowns, including two TD scores to Elijah Sarratt (9 catches, 92 yards). In his last two games, Mendoza has now completed 40-of-43 passes for 537 yards and 10 scores. Khobie Martin led the Hoosiers’ ground attack, running for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
As good as the IU offense was, the special teams and defense was equally impressive. IU got on the board early thanks to a DeAngelo Ponds blocked punt and return for score, putting IU up 7-0. From there, the defense never let the Illini and highly-touted quarterback Luke Altmeyer get untracked. Illini managed just 161 yards and total offense, was 1-of-10 on 3rd downs, and Altmeyer was sacked seven times.
Indiana heads on the road for games against Iowa and Oregon before returning home on Oct. 18 for a match-up with Michigan State for Homecoming. The game is sold out, but fans can still explore secondary ticket market options such as SeatGeek below.
Indiana Football Single-Game Tickets
