Indiana football and Illinois last met on the gridiron Nov. 11, 2023, in Champaign, Illinois at Memorial Stadium. After the contest went to overtime, the Fighting Illini notched a game-winning 21-yard touchdown to earn a 48-45 victory.
Indiana finished that season with a 4-8 record while Illinois went 5-7. But much has changed for both programs in the last 22 months.
The Hoosiers are coming off an 11-2 season that ended in their first College Football Playoff appearance, while the Fighting Illini earned a program record-tying 10 wins and just three losses.
This time around, No. 9 Illinois will travel to Bloomington to take on No. 19 Indiana at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in a nationally televised contest on NBC. Noah Eagle will handle play-by-play responsibilities alongside analyst Todd Blackledge and sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen.
Saturday’s matchup could have significant CFP implications, as both squads still have a pair of marquee conference contests against top teams on their schedule. The Hoosiers will travel to No. 6 Oregon on Oct. 11 and No. 2 Penn State on Nov. 8 while the Fighting Illini will host No. 25 Southern California on Sept. 27 and No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 11.
Here’s what to know about No. 9 Illinois:
Two “good” and “well-coached” football teams
Both Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and Illinois head coach Bret Bielema complemented each other’s squads during their respective press conferences Monday.
Cignetti said although he’s never coached against Bielema — or even met him until he was hired at Indiana — he’s always “respected him” as a coach. Now in his fifth season at Illinois, Bielema has a 31-22 mark at the helm and has his team on a seven-game win streak — the longest in his tenure.
“And he's done a great job at Illinois,” Cignetti said, “and they're fundamental and you can see the coaching show up on tape.”
Like Cignetti, Bielema praised his squad’s opponent.
“They definitely have complementary football written all over it,” Bielema said. “Just the way they play, the way they talk, the way they communicate. Just very, very impressive group to watch overall. So, we got our work cut out for us.”
Both squads enter the contest at 3-0. However, Indiana has yet to leave the comfort of its own stadium. But Saturday will be Illinois’ second away game this season. And in the last, they dominated the second half to drub Duke University by 26 points on Sept. 6 in Durham, North Carolina.
Illinois has yet to notch a turnover so far this season while being plus six in turnover margin — the second-best mark in the country behind East Carolina University. The Fighting Illini had five takeaways against Duke: four fumbles and an interception.
The Hoosiers have five takeaways to just one turnover, which came in their season opener when redshirt junior running back Lee Beebe Jr. — who was ruled out for the season Monday — fumbled on his first carry.
QB Luke Altmyer
In the 2023 matchup between the two schools, quarterback Luke Altmyer was in his first season with Illinois. However, he missed the contest with an injury. Then-backup quarterback John Paddock had no problem carving up the Hoosiers’ defense, passing for 507 yards and four touchdowns.
Now, Altmyer, who spent his first two seasons at the University of Mississippi, will face the Hoosiers in his redshirt senior season.
Through three games, Altmyer has thrown for just over 700 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s averaging 9.1 yards per attempt and has a 182 passer rating. Cignetti said he’s “very much impressed” with the Starkville, Mississippi, native.
Altmyer is one of 16 starters to return from the Fighting Illini’s 2024 roster.
“And that's the one thing about Illinois, is they know what it takes, the success they had last year, returning a good nucleus of guys and added some new ones,” Cignetti said. “Very much kind of like us.”
Should the contest be close late in the fourth quarter, Altmyer has proven capable of guiding Illinois’ offense to crucial scores. He leads active quarterbacks in the nation with five career game-winning drives in the final minute of regulation or in overtime.
Illinois’ rushing attack
Indiana is the only Football Bowl Subdivision school to notch 300 rushing yards in each of its first three games this season. However, Illinois’ group of running backs has also proven their potency.
Junior Kaden Feagin leads the trio of backs this season with 50 carries for 222 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Feagin missed the final eight games of the 2024 season after undergoing hip surgery.
Junior Aidan Laughery, who missed the Fighting Illini’s victory over Western Michigan University on Sept. 13 with an undisclosed injury, was slated to return to practice either Tuesday or Wednesday, Bielema said.
In Laughery’s absence, sophomore Ca’Lil Valentine notched 10 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown in the win.
Although the Fighting Illini are tied for 13th in total rushing yards and rank in the bottom half of the Big Ten in yards per carry and yards per game, any success on the ground allows Altmyer and the passing attack to establish itself.
Illinois’ defense
Through the first three games of the season, Illinois has allowed 7.3 points per game — fifth in the nation and third in the Big Ten.
The unit has also dominated in terms of forcing fumbles, having done so four times this season — tied for third in the country. Indiana’s rushing attack, which has gained at least 300 yards in each game this season, will play a pivotal role in the contest and must protect the ball from punches.
Preseason All-American senior outside linebacker Gabe Jacas is sixth in the country and leads the conference in sacks with 6.5. He’s also tied for the national lead in forced fumbles with two.
The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Jacas ranks fifth in career sacks in program history with 19.5 entering Saturday.
WR Hank Beatty
Not only does senior Hank Beatty lead the Fighting Illini in receiving yards with 289, but he’s also third in the Big Ten and 16th in the country. Indiana junior cornerback D’Angelo Ponds will presumably be tasked with holding Beatty in check Saturday.
Beatty also contributes on special teams as a punt returner, as he’s had six returns for 152 yards and a touchdown. He stands at just 5-foot-11 and leads the Power Four in all-purpose yards with 466.
“He's their leading receiver, spreads the ball around, good player, good ball skills, movement skills,” Cignetti said. “As far as a punt returner, hang time always helps, get the coverage time to get down there and do a great job with our coverage and tackle in space.”
Indiana has punted just five times this season. However, starting punter senior Mitch McCarthy has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury he suffered in the season opener. Sophomore kicker Quinn Warren has since taken over the punting duties.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
