BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After picking up its first conference win of the season last weekend at home against Wisconsin, Indiana hits the road for a Saturday matchup with Illinois.
Indiana (3-6, 1-5 in Big Ten play) and Illinois (4-5, 2-4 in Big Ten play) play for the 74th time in the history of the two programs Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
Last week, the Hoosiers got out to a strong start on their way to a 20-14 over the visiting Badgers.
Brendan Sorsby scored with his legs from 8 yards out to put Indiana on the board first. At the conclusion of the first quarter, Sorsby's rushing touchdown -- his second of the year -- represented the only points on the board for either team.
In the second quarter, after Wisconsin struck for a 54-yard touchdown, Sorsby found Donaven McCulley for a 7-yard touchdown pass to give Indiana a 10-point lead heading into the halftime break.
In the second half, the Hoosiers' offense struggled to move the ball with any sort of consistency. The only points Indiana scored in the entirety of the second half came thanks to a Chris Freeman field goal with 70 seconds to go.
Because of Indiana's strong play defensively throughout the game, the Hoosiers' second half struggles on the offensive side of the ball didn't come back to hurt them.
Last Saturday, Illinois was in Minneapolis to take on Minnesota. It took some late-game heroics from backup quarterback John Paddock and star receiver Isaiah Williams.
Down by five points with just under two minutes to play with the ball on their own 15-yard line, the Illini had to turn to Paddock after starter Luke Altmyer went down with an injury.
With 50 seconds remaining, Paddock fired a 46-yard strike to Williams to give Illinois a 27-26 win.
Ahead of this week 11 matchup, here's everything you need to know to get ready for the Hoosiers to take on the Illini.
Last Time They Met
The last time these two teams met was Indiana's season opener a year ago. The Hoosiers led 16-10 at halftime, but the Illini came out of the halftime break and scored the first 10 points of the second half.
With 2:16 left to play, Connor Bazelak led a 12-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a game-winning touchdown for Indiana.
Indiana ran the ball for just 32 yards in that game on 26 carries, leaving Bazelak to throw the ball 52 times.
With the win, Indiana has now won the last four meetings with Illinois.
Injury Report
WR Cam Camper, QB Brendan Sorsby and OL Max Longmann were all listed as questionable on the Hoosiers' pregame availability report last weekend.
Sorsby started and played the entire game for Indiana and both Camper and Longman did not play. Earlier this week it was announced that Camper would be out for the rest of the season following a season-ending procedure.
DBs Noah Pierre and Jamier Johnson were both listed as out on the pregame availability report.
Storylines to keep an eye on...
Can Indiana's offense move the ball on the ground?
Coming into this weekend's matchup with Illinois, Indiana's rushing attack ranks bottom three in the Big Ten in yards per carry and yards per game on the ground. The Hoosiers are facing an Illini defense that has allowed the third most rushing yards in the Big Ten this season. Something is going to have to give. With not much to split these two teams, it feels like this could be the area of the game that decides the winner.
Can Indiana's defense continue it's strong play?
Last week, Indiana held a depleted Wisconsin offense to two touchdowns. The Hoosiers' defense has been a unit all season long that has had its fair shares of ups and downs. They looked terrible against Akron and gave up 44 points to Maryland on the road. On the flip side, it's a group that shut out Louisville in the second half and was solid for four quarters against Wisconsin. The Indiana defense has had problems with giving up big plays this season. Take last week against the Badgers as an example. The Hoosiers' defense gave up touchdowns of 54 yards and 18 yards in last Saturday's win. With Illinois QB Luke Altmyer having thrown the most interceptions in the Big Ten this season, Indiana is going to need to force turnovers and keep an explosive Illinois offense in check.
Who will start at QB for Illinois?
Late in last week's come-from-behind-victory over Minnesota, Illinois starting QB Luke Altmyer was forced out of the game due to injury. John Paddock came into the game and led the Illini on a game-winning drive. As kickoff nears, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema is not ruling out the possibility of Altmyer starting for the Illini come Saturday. Paddock has largely appeared late in blowouts this season for Illinios after transferring from Ball State. Paddock started all 12 games at quarterback for Ball State a season ago. Indiana will have to be prepared to face either quarterback this weekend.
Quick Hitters
Who?: Indiana (3-6, 1-5 in the Big Ten) at Illinois (4-5, 2-4 in Big Ten play)
When?: Saturday, November 11th, 12:00 p.m. ET
Where?: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Indiana
TV: Big Ten Network – Connor Onion (play-by-play), Matt Millen (analyst), Elise Menaker (sideline)
Radio: IU Radio Network, Don Fischer (play-by-play), Rhett Lewis (analyst), John Herrick
Vegas: Illinois -6.5, o/u 43.5
ESPN SP+: 63.9% chance of a Badger victory
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