Bloomington, IN – When we relocated to Tennessee in 2021 and looked at new, closer travel opportunities to attend games, an Indiana Hoosier home got shoved to the bottom of our priorities. In 2024, Curt Cignetti leaves James Madison and brings along quite a few former FCS Dukes to Bloomington. In the biggest surprise of the season, Indiana plays in the College Football Playoff in Year One. “Who’d have thunk it?” as they say. For many years, Indiana University rarely played a game of significance in college football. These Hoosiers didn’t play for Bobby Knight.
With so little at stake for Indiana football over the years, we’ve seen them play only four times. In a shocker, their first appearance on our slate back in November 1993 featured some significance. The Hoosiers ambled into State College, PA to face the Nittany Lions playing in their inaugural season of Big Ten membership. Not only was Indiana 7-1, 4-1 at that point, they were even ranked ahead of Joe Paterno’s team, 5-2, 3-2. The Lions fell the previous two weeks to Michigan and to Ohio State, of course. This contest turned out to be good and exciting. Penn State prevailed, 38-31, in the end.
Whose your Indiana Hoosiers?
Two of three subsequent Indiana games we attended provided some significance to the annals of our history. PSU blew them out, 38-17, in 2008. After that, however, the Hoosiers won big in September 2012 introducing UMASS to the FBS in Foxboro, MA. They crushed the Minutemen on the positive side of a 45-6 score. In 2021, they played in a close battle in our first game at Western Kentucky after our relocation to Tennessee, 33-31. Overall, they appeared before us in three competitive games for a 2-2 record. Now, we have reason to travel to Bloomington, Indiana in 2025 to actually see them truly host a game of significance.
Illini offered little historical significance
Like Indiana, we’ve not had much impetus to attend many Illinois games. Penn State introduced them to us as our Team # 62 in 2000 (remember Y2K?). The Lions thrashed them 39-25 when both teams finished dismal seasons with five wins each. Ten years later, the Illini returned the favor in State College with a 33-13 upset at the PSU Homecoming. In 2009, Illinois introduced us to the Ohio State “Horseshoe” during a cold rain where they got drubbed, 30-0, by the eventual Rose Bowl champ. Their last game we attended came at Memorial Stadium on their campus in Champaign, Illinois in 2023. There Penn State, with soph QB Drew Allar, defeated them 30-13.
Tales of two coaches
We’ve seen both coaches lead their previous programs in games in prior seasons. Three years ago, we watched Curt Cignetti lead James Madsion into FBS play at Louisville. His JMU Dukes fell to the Cardinals, 34-10. It was the third loss for the Dukes in their inaugural FBS season on the way to an 8-3 record.
Illini HC Bret Bielema’s first game with us goes all the way back to 2008 when he coached Wisconsin at Michigan State in East Lansing, Michigan. The Badgers fell to the Spartans on a game-winning field goal as time expired. Bielema played a significant part in that loss as he spent a time-out on MSU’s final possession when he could have let the clock continue to run out. Live and learn, but that lingers as a tough way for any coach to lose. He left Wisconsin for Arkansas in 2013, and from there became an assistant to Nick Saban at Alabama. He returned to coach the Illini in the Big Ten once again in 2021.
AP Preseason Poll: No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 16 Illinois
Unusual to say the least. Rarely does the Big Ten feature a match-up between two top 25 teams on the very first week of conference play. Think: Ohio State vs. Michigan. Both coaches bring in teams after strong seasons with some prolific starters returning from within or transferring in since last season. Indiana finished 11-2 last year, tied for second place with Penn State for second with a Big Ten mark of 8-1. Many observers will say that their two losses to Ohio State (38-15) and to Notre Dame in the CFP (27-17) indicated how weak their regular season slate was. They averaged 41 points per game on offense while the defense allowed only 16 on average.
The Illini come off a 10-3 record with losses at Penn State, at Oregon and against Minnesota. They stunned a good South Carolina team, 27-17, in the Citrus Bowl. They averaged 28 points per game on offense and allowed 22 ppg on defense. Indiana and Illinois did not meet last season. However, the Hoosiers triumphed by three in their last two meetings – 45-42 at Champaign in 2023. They posted another close win, 23-20, in Bloomington the season before. An indication of another battle we’ll see this year? We hope so!
Indiana: open portal keeps Hoosiers aloft
QB Kurtis Roarke entered from Ohio U. a season ago and moved on to the pros since. Cignetti found Fernando Mendoza from Cal well-equipped to replace him. He threw for 3004 yards, 16 TDs and six INTs in his second year as a starter in Berkeley. Two leading targets return to IU from last season. WR Elijah Surrat (53 catches for 957 yards and eight TDs) and Omar Cooper ( 28/594/7) look to challenge this year’s slate of Big Ten secondaries. At TE comes double-transferee Holden Staes via Tennessee after Notre Dame. At RB, the portal sucked in Roman Hemby from Maryland. In 38 starts, he rushed for 2,347 yards. Four experienced OL will see action including Pat Coogan who started 26 games for the Fighting Irish.
Seven defenders return on the other side of the ball for Indiana
MLB Aidan Fisher led the Hoosiers in tackles with 118. SS Amare Ferrel came up with 49 stops and four picks. DE (called STUD in IU terminology) Mikail Kamara recorded 47 tackles and 10 sacks applying tremendous pressure. CB De’Angelo Ponds, All-Sunbelt 2nd team at JMU in 2023 returns with 55 tackles and three INTs for the Hoosiers. They allowed 17.6 ppg last year, but their slate didn’t present too many noteworthy offenses. Illinois, Oregon and Penn State will test them this season.
Illini on the rise
Bielema’s fourth season at Illinois last year resulted in his best record at 10-3. With QB Luke Altmyer returning, confidence rises to improve upon last season. With Altmyer at a 60.8% completion rate, 2,717 yards and 22 TDs through the air and six INTs, the Illini feel they can only get better. His offensive line stays intact for great protection and solid skill players provide him a dangerous arsenal of weapons. Typically, the Illini feature a few top NFL OL prospects. Bielema lays claim that only former Alabama HC Nick Saban sent more offensive lineman to the NFL over the years than he did. The line will be among the top choices for the Joe Moore Award this year. College football bestows it on the best offensive line annually.
The backfield returns Aidan Laughery (601 yards, four TDs) and Kaden Feagin (314 yards and three TDs) ranked 2nd and 3rd among U of ILL rushers last season. Feagin started as the top back last season, but he sustained an injury after five games to sideline him the balance of the season. At wide receiver, Hudson Clement, WVU’s top receiver, joins a potent duo of Hank Beatty and Collin Dixon averaging 14.7 yards per reception. Four other transfers will vie for playing time in the receiving corps.
From Dick Butkus to…
Nine starters return on defense. OLB Gabe Jacas made Third Team All-American with 74 tackles including eight sacks. Their linebacking corps looks solid. First team Big 10 LB Xavier Scott returns with 49 tackles and four INTs. Dylan Rosiek and James Kreutz reset as the numbers three and four tacklers from last season’s team. Safeties Matt Bailey and Miles Scott have played in 69 games to combine for 227 tackles and eight INTs. All four secondary starters come back with full seasons of starting experience. Unlike a lot of other programs, this defense grew together within this program.
Great game ahead
Heading into their Big Ten opener, Indiana won’t be tested among ODU, 2-10 Kennesaw State under a new HC and FCS Indiana State beforehand. However, these games will allow them time to adjust to get all the new transfers playing on the same page. It seems like Curt Cignetti has the experience to do this once again. The Illini non-conference includes FCS Western Illinois, Duke and Western Michigan. Duke’s defense under Manny Diaz will be a good test for the Illini offensive potency. A challenge here could help strengthen them for this conflict.
We expect both squads coming into this one at 3-0. Both will have skilled talent returning including experienced QBs which ensures to make this a great early season battle. Assuredly, this game will get settled late the final period. Like that last two meetings, the final margin comes down to withing three points. Indiana has the home field advantage, but after last year’s success and plethora of returning starters among the Illini, is that a significant advantage?
Early season success starts with experienced quarterbacks
We saw Altmyer against Penn State in 2022, and reports indicate he’s improved. Mendoza also has a lot of experienced talent around him that should gel by then. This is a tough call. Cignetti? Bret Bielema? After deep thought, Illinois comes in more motivated as this team is already unified. Some players opted out of the NFL draft to play one more season together. In their first Big Ten game of the season, they see this as a stepping stone to win the conference title. Indiana had its shot last year. The Illini know that and won’t let the Hoosiers stand in their way. With great motivation, look for Illinois to win this in a tight, hard-fought, down to the wire battle. at Indiana’s Memorial Stadium. For our first time there, can’t wait!
Once again, a friendly and informative reminder
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Edited by and photos taken by Steve Koreivo – Member of Football Writers Association of America and Author of Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.