Fast thoughts about IU Football’s 63-10 Blowout victory against No. 9 Illinois in Memorial Stadium for 56,088 fans:
Three important plays in IU’s victory
D’Angelo Ponds sets the tone early with special teams playing -All-American Defensive Back d’Angelo Ponds first got it on the board when he blocked a point of Keelan Crimmins, scooped the ball and returned for a touchdown.
Ponds has a talent for making large plays and he put the IU audience in a memorial stage in a row with the blocked point and score at 9:26 of the first quarter.
Point blocked. Memorial Stadium fluctuates! #B1gfootball
? NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/vgcngxzy3s
– NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 21, 2025
Fernando Mendoza finds EJ Williams for a two-score lead -Diana’s second passing touchdown of the game came early in the second quarter when Mendoza ended a 56-meter ride with a Touchdown pass to EJ Williams.
Earlier in the ride, Illinois Safety Miles Scott was cast out for a targeting game on a broad recipient Omar Cooper Jr., who caught the first TouchDown -Pass of the game for the Hoosiers in the first quarter.
The connection between the second quarter between Mendoza and Williams gave De Hoosiers a 21-7 lead at 11:05. At that time, Mendoza had completed seven of the nine passes for 113 Yards.
Kaelon Black opens the second half scoring with a long touchdown run – The IU attack continued where he had gone in the second half.
Running Kaelon Black finished a seven-play ride with a TouchDown run of 40 meters to push the lead to 42-10 with 11:38 to play.
Wall -away Hoosiers. ? pic.twitter.com/QHXM3IF43R
– NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 21, 2025
Mendoza’s Efficiency
Mendoza was efficient in the first half when he completed 15 of 17 passes for 220 yards and four touchdown passes.
The Hoosier Quarterback found four different Doelen Cooper Jr., Elia Sarratt, Williams and Riley Nowakowski for Touchdowns in the first half. The Quarterback rating of Mendoza on intermission was 274.6.
After the third quarter, Mendoza was pulled with the Hoisiers who led 49-10. He completed 21 of 23 passes for 267 passing yards and five touchdowns.
Ground game Illinois Defense
Illinois entered Saturday’s game with one of the top 15 hurry defenses in the country. The Fighting Illini had given up on average 74 meters per match through three games.
The IUbackfield made it easy at Memorial Stadium.
Khobie Martin hurried for 107 Yards and two touchdowns. Kaelon Black ended with 89 yards and a touchdown. Roman Hemby reinforced 65 meters on the floor. Indiana finished with 312 hurry recruiting.
Defense puts together a dominant performance
The defense of Indiana set the tone in the first half with the consistent pressure that it exerted on the Quarterback Luke Altmeyer of Illinois.
The Hoosiers had five bags and seven tackles for a loss in the first half. Apart from a bloated coverage of the IU secondary that led to a 59-Yard Pass from Altmeyer to Collin Dixon, it was a dominant opening thirty minutes before the Hoosier defense.
Indiana held the fight Illini scoreless in the third quarter. Illinois went three on both possessions in the third quarter and had a negative Yardage.
Even after the Hoosiers had pulled several starters, Illinois could not score a point in the fourth quarter.
What is the next step for the Hoosiers
Indiana will be back in action next Saturday at Kennick Stadium against Iowa.
The Hawkeyes are 3-1 general and 1-0 in Big ten Play. The kick -off is set at 3:30 pm ET on Peacock.
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