One of the biggest games of the week in college football will take place in Bloomington, Indiana as the Indiana football team is hosting No. 9 Illinois. Not long ago, both of these teams were in the basement of the Big Ten, but that isn't the case anymore. Both the Hoosiers and Fighting Illini are ranked inside the top 20, and both teams have hopes of going to the College Football Playoff. This game will have massive implications on the remainder of the season.
Curt Cignetti told Indiana football fans that he is a winner when he arrived in Bloomington, and he has done a lot of winning already. He took the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff in his first year, and he hopes to get them back. However, he knows that this matchup against Illinois will be a big challenge. The Fighting Illini have a lot of strengths, and they are similar to Indiana.
“That's the one thing about Illinois, is they know what it takes,” Cignetti said in a video posted B1G Football. “You know, the success they had last year, returned a good nucleus of guys, added some new ones. Very much kinda like us. Good core returning that understands what it takes. So ought to be a great match up.”
All in all, Cignetti has been very impressed with what Illinois has been able to do in recent years, and he knows that stopping quarterback Luke Altmyer will be a challenge.
“Good football team, ought to be a great environment Saturday night, looking forward to it,” Cignetti added. “You know, they're a really good football team. Got a lot of good players, a lot of veteran players. Coach Bielema does a great job, him and his staff, in all three phases, offense, defense, special teams. Veteran quarterback has got armed talent, very accurate, can extend plays. You know, he's won a bunch of games for Illinois.”
Indiana and Illinois will get underway from Memorial Stadium in Bloomington at 7:30 ET on Saturday night, and the game will be airing on NBC. The Hoosiers are favored by 4.5 points.
