It’s the game everyone has been waiting for.
This Big Ten opener against Illinois has it all. A top-20 matchup, sold out stadium, national television audience, under the lights, and a red out in the stands.
Here’s everything you need to know about Indiana’s week four matchup against the Fighting Illini in Bloomington:
No. 8/9 ILLINOIS (3-0, 0-0) at No. 17/19 INDIANA (3-0, 0-0)
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday
- Location: Bloomington, Ind., Memorial Stadium (52,626; field turf)
- Television: NBC – Noah Eagle (pbp), Todd Blackledge (color), Kathryn Tappen (sideline)
- Stream: Peacock
- Radio: IU Football radio network
- Odds: Indiana is around a 6.5-point favorite
- Weather at kickoff: 79 degrees, partly/mostly cloudy, wind 3 mph, 15% chance of precipitation.
- Series: Illinois leads the series 46-26-2.
- The Coaches:
- Curt Cignetti is in his second year as the head coach at IU. He holds a 133-37 record in his 15th season as a college head coach. He’s 14-2 at Indiana.
- Bret Bielema is 31-22 in five years at Illinois. He’s 128-80 in 16 years as a head coach.
GAMEDAY TIMELINE
- 12 P.M. – Tailgating & Parking Lots Open
- 5 P.M. – B-Town Boulevard Opens
- 5:05 P.M. – The Walk & Gameday Rally
- 6 P.M. – Stadium Gates Opens
- 7 P.M. – Marching Hundred Pregame Show
- 7:30 P.M. – Kickoff vs. Illinois
TALE OF THE TAPE
THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK FOUR SLATE
ILLINOIS RESULTS
Aug 29 vs. Western Illinois W 52-3 Sep 6 at Duke W 45-19 Sep 13 vs. Western Michigan W 38-0
ILLINOIS NOTES AND NUMBERS
(Via Illinois Athletics)
Illinois in the Rankings
• Illinois is looking for its first road win as a top-10 team since Oct. 27, 1990 (21-3 vs. Wisconsin).
• Illinois entered the AP’s top 10 on Sept. 7, the program’s first top-10 ranking since December 2001.
• Illinois’ #9 ranking is the program’s highest September ranking since 1964, Dick Butkus’ senior season.
• Illinois had its highest preseason ranking (#12) since 1990, when the Illini started #11 in the Preseason AP Top 25.
• Illinois’ #12 preseason ranking is the ninth-highest in program history since the AP Preseason Poll began in 1950.
• Illinois was ranked in the Preseason AP Top 25 and the Preseason Coaches Poll for the first time since 2008.
Tough, Smart, Dependable
• Illinois is second in the nation in turnover margin (+6), behind only East Carolina (+7).
• Illinois has started the season with zero turnovers in its first three games for the first time since at least 1995.
• Illinois has thrown only six interceptions over the last two seasons (2024-25), tied with Army, James Madison, Missouri, and Vanderbilt for the second-fewest in the nation over that span. Only Marshall (5) has thrown fewer interceptions than Illinois over the last two seasons.
• Illinois is 10-0 when it has committed zero or one turnover over the last two seasons (2024-25).
• Illinois is 10-1 when it has forced one or more turnovers over the last two seasons (2024-25).
The Illinois Offense
• Illinois ranks 15th in the nation and seventh in the Big Ten in scoring at 45.0 points per game.
• QB Luke Altmyer is 14th in the nation and fifth in the Big Ten in passing efficiency (182.0).
• Altmyer is one of three Big Ten quarterbacks with 8+ passing touchdowns and zero interceptions, along with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza (9/0) and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola (8/0).
• Altmyer is 14th in the nation and second in the Big Ten in passing touchdowns (8).
• WR Hank Beatty is 16th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten in receiving yards (289).
• Beatty is third in the nation and leads the Power-4 and Big Ten in all-purpose yards (466).
• Illinois has scored 38 or more points in six of its last seven games dating back to last season.
• Illinois has scored 38 or more points in each of its first three games of a season for the first time since 1999.
The Illinois Defense
• Illinois is fifth in the nation and third in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing only 7.3 points per game.
• Illinois is tied for the national lead in fumble recoveries (5) and tied for third in the nation in forced fumbles (4).
• Illinois forced five turnovers at Duke, four fumble recoveries (3 forced) and one interception.
• Preseason All-American OLB Gabe Jacas leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth in the nation in sacks (6.5), while tying for the national lead in forced fumbles (2).
The Illinois Special Teams
• Hank Beatty ranks sixth in the nation in yards per punt return (25.3) and fourth in punt return yards (152).
• Beatty and Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen are the only players in the nation with a receiving touchdown, rushing touchdown, and punt return touchdown this season.
• Keelan Crimmins averaged 48.0 yards per punt at Duke, including a 60-yard punt and a punt inside the 20-yard line that was muffed and set up Illinois’ first touchdown.
PREDICTIONS
This one lives up to the hype early, as the teams trade punches and stay close in the first half. But the IU pass rush gets to Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer in the second half, the Hoosiers create turnovers, and the offense capitalizes to pull away.
TDH PREDICTION: INDIANA 38 ILLINOIS 27
- ESPN SP+ (Computer): Indiana 28 Illinois 24 (60% win probability)
- ESPN FPI (Computer): Indiana has a 62.8% chance to win.
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