Indiana football surged to No. 11 in the Associated Press’ Top 25 Poll released Sunday — eight spots ahead of last week’s No. 19 ranking.
The jump came after the Hoosiers’ statement 63-10 victory over then-No. 9, now No. 23, Illinois on Saturday. The Cream and Crimson’s dominant offensive output marked the most points by a Big Ten team against an AP top-10 opponent all-time.
Performing in his first Big Ten contest and in front of a sold-out crowd, redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza completed 21 of his 23 pass attempts with 267 passing yards and five touchdowns — becoming the first quarterback with multiple five-or-more touchdown games in Indiana history.
The Cream and Crimson defensive unit stymied the Illinois rushing attack. The Fighting Illini collected just two total yards on the ground, while the Hoosiers registered 10 tackles-for-loss and a season-high seven sacks.
Meanwhile, Illinois fell 14 spots to No. 23 following its loss at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Penn State dropped one spot to No. 3 during its bye week, as Oregon stayed put at No. 6 despite earning a 41-7 victory over Oregon State University. Ohio State remains No. 1 after its bye week.
Michigan and USC moved up in the rankings. The Wolverines rose two spots to No. 19 after a 30-27 win against Nebraska, and the Trojans soared four spots to No. 21.
No. 11 Indiana now faces its first road contest of the season, as it travels to Iowa City, Iowa, for a matchup against Iowa. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Kinnick Stadium.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
