FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Illinois (Week 4)

Setting The Scene

• No. 19/17 Indiana is set to host No. 9/8 Illinois on Saturday (Sept. 20) at 7:30 p.m. on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The first top-20 matchup at home since 1987 will air on NBC.
• This will be the 75th all-time meeting between the two programs with Illinois leading the series, 46-26-2. Indiana has won two out of the last three games while Illinois won the most recent meeting in 2023.
• The home contest marks the fourth of seven home games for the Hoosiers on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium this season and the fourth and final of four in a row to begin the 2025 campaign.
• Illinois is 3-0 for the second time under Bret Bielema and has reached the mark in back-to-back seasons.

News & Notes

• Indiana enters the game with a 3-0 record after a 73-0 win in Week 3 against Indiana State (9/12). The Hoosiers have begun back-to-back seasons 3-0 after starting the 2024 campaign at 10-0.
• Saturday's game will be the sixth ever top-20 matchup played in Bloomington and the first since Oct. 20, 1987 when No. 15 Indiana defeated No. 20 Michigan, 14-10.
• Curt Cignetti has the fourth-best winning percentage among active FBS head coaches with an .825 winning percentage in his career. MORE ON PAGE 4
• With 45 points in the first half against Indiana State, Indiana posted its most first-half points in a game in the last 100 years. It tied the 2013 first-half effort against Indiana State (45).
• Indiana's 301 yards rushing against Indiana State marked the fourth game of 300-plus rushing yards under Cignetti. It was also the first time that Indiana posted 300-plus rushing yards in three-straight games since 2001 (308, at Iowa; 316, Northwestern; 489, at Michigan State). MORE ON PAGE 8
• Indiana's defense held Indiana State to just 77 yards of total offense, the fourth-fewest yards of total offense allowed since at least 1959. The previous games include Purdue (2024; 67 yards), Rutgers (2019; 75 yards) and at Nebraska (1959; 76 yards).
• The 680 yards of total offense rank No. 3 in a single game since at least 1959 and mark the eighth game of the Curt Cignetti era with 500-plus yards of total offense. It is the second-most yards Indiana has gained under Cignetti.
• Fernando Mendoza had a 19-for-20 passing day with 270 yards and five touchdowns to go along with one rushing score. His .950 completion percentage set the program's single-game standard. The six touchdowns accounted for put Mendoza in a five-way tie for most in a game in program history. MORE ON PAGE 7
• Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Omar Cooper Jr. charted 10 receptions for 207 yards receiving and four touchdowns against Indiana State. His four touchdown receptions tied James Hardy's program record from 2006.
• Elijah Sarratt has a catch in all 41 games of his career and is the nation's leader for consecutive games with a reception. MORE ON PAGE 4
• Isaiah Jones had a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss, a solo sack against Indiana State (9/12) and a team-high four tackles. MORE ON PAGE 11
• D'Angelo Ponds made it three-straight weeks with 1.0 tackles for loss after his performance against Indiana State (9/12). MORE ON PAGE 13

GAME 4

Setting The Scene

News & Notes

Week 3 Links

#19/17 Indiana 63, #9/8 10