College football betting: Indiana's blowout of Illinois was no fluke

Week 4 was a connection infinitesimal for the Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana tore the Illinois Fighting Illini to shreds successful a mode that makes you halt and inquire the bigger question: is this squad for real?

A 63-10 last grabs attraction connected its own, but the show goes deeper than the container score.

The abbreviated extremity of it: this wasn't luck, it wasn't Illinois having a atrocious day, and it wasn't a September mirage. There's much to that people than meets the eye, and I volition laic it each out.

Indiana romped Illinois, 63-10: What it archer us

The Hoosiers' ascendant triumph implicit Illinois was a confirmation of everything we thought this squad could be. Indiana dismantled the Illini successful each imaginable way.

Fernando Mendoza was astir perfect, completing 21-of-23 passes for 267 yards and 5 touchdowns. The tally crippled was conscionable arsenic dominant, piling up 312 yards connected 49 carries. The violative enactment controlled the enactment of scrimmage, opening lanes for backs and giving Mendoza clip to carve up the secondary.

Indiana's defence was conscionable arsenic stout, suffocating Illinois from the opening snap. The Illini finished with lone 161 full yards and two rushing yards connected 20 attempts. That is not a typo. Two!

Indiana's antiaircraft beforehand lived successful the backfield, racking up 7 sacks and holding Illinois to 1-for-10 connected third-down conversions. What was expected to beryllium a competitory league matchup turned into 1 of the astir lopsided container scores of the season.

This crippled tells america Indiana is simply a implicit team. Offense, defense, extent and subject each clicked. If this is the mentation we spot the remainder of the year, the Hoosiers beryllium successful the playoff conversation.

It wasn't a fluke

This crippled was the nonstop representation my preseason reads painted. In my Top 25 article backmost successful August, I liked the implicit connected the play triumph full for the Hoosiers and the nether connected the Illini. Saturday showed precisely why.

For Indiana, the pieces were already successful place. Mendoza stepped into a strategy that acceptable schoolhouse records past season, and helium has looked each spot the portion of a steady, businesslike quarterback. Through 4 games, he's completing astir 77% of his passes with 17 touchdowns and nary interceptions, and the tally crippled has rolled to much than 1,200 yards astatine 6.8 yards per carry. That balance, paired with a defence returning All-American talent, was ever the blueprint.

On the different side, the Illini nonaccomplishment wasn't conscionable a one-off. It was the earthy effect of a squad built for sustained occurrence flexing its ceiling. Illinois showed precisely what preseason doubts suggested. Last year's resume looked stronger than it was, and losing Josh McCray, their astir carnal moving back, stripped them of an identity.

Rushing for lone 2 full yards and getting knocked to the crushed 7 times is simply a glaring motion of a squad that was overvalued coming successful astatine No. 12. The Hoosiers weren't simply hot; they exposed each interest Illinois carried into 2025.

That's correlation successful its cleanest form.

What bash we bash with this information?

Next comes the existent question: what to bash with the Hoosiers arsenic they look down the Oregon Ducks and Penn State Nittany Lions? The metrics archer america they beryllium successful some games. Offensively, Indiana sits apical 10 successful EPA/play and occurrence rate, with the quality to bushed you connected the crushed oregon done the air.

Defensively, the Hoosiers smother consistency, ranking apical 5 successful occurrence complaint allowed and 2nd against the pass. Oregon presents a ...