DALLAS (FWAA) – In front of its second-largest home crowd in program history, the Indiana Hoosiers pounded out 312 rushing yards as part of 579 total yards in a 63-10 wipeout of No. 9 Illinois at Memorial Stadium. For posting the most points a Big Ten team has ever scored against an AP top-10 team, Indiana earns the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Team of the Week for games the weekend of Sept. 20, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the fourth time Indiana has received this award by the FWAA and the first time in five seasons since it toppled then-No. 8 Penn State, 38-35, the weekend of Oct. 24, 2020.
The Hoosiers (4-0) rolled from the start. A blocked punt that turned into an 11-yard touchdown return in the first quarter preceded two quick touchdown passes from Fernando Mendoza as Indiana rolled up 28 second-quarter points and a 35-10 halftime lead. Mendoza was the catalyst with sharp-shooting efficiency, completing 21-of-23 passes for 267 yards and five touchdowns without an interception, playing in only three quarters.
Indiana's 63 points marked the most scored by a Big Ten team against an AP Top-10 opponent, topping Ohio State’s two 62-point outings, most recently in 2018 against No. 4 Michigan. It also set a program record as Indiana’s largest overall margin of victory over a ranked opponent, more than doubling its previous best of 21 points against Ohio State (31-10) in 1987.
The Hoosiers have won a program-record 12 straight home games under head coach Curt Cignetti, who has yet to lose at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
Mendoza has thrown a Big Ten-best 14 touchdown passes this season without an interception. Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. have been a big part of that. Saturday, they combined for 15 catches, 170 yards and three of Mendoza’s touchdowns.
Indiana also recorded its fourth-straight 300-yard rushing game against Illinois, finishing with 312. Running back Khobie Martin had a second-straight 100-yard game (107) with two touchdowns and Kaelon Black added 89 yards and a score.
Defensively, the Hoosiers held Illinois to 163 total yards and nine first downs. They had 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks, forced nine punts and had an interception.
"This was our first Big Ten game," cornerback D’Angelo Ponds said. “We wanted to make a statement. We did that. It shows how dominant we can be."
The attendance was the most in a game since the expansion of the capacity of Memorial Stadium to 50,000-plus in 1970.
Indiana, 4-0 for the ninth time in program history, travels to Iowa for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday in a game broadcast by Peacock.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2025 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Pop-Tarts "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
Other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Sept. 20 included:
- Memphis (4-0): The Tigers trailed by 18 points midway through the second quarter but rallied in front of their first Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium capacity crowd since 2019 to deliver a 32-31 upset over Arkansas. The win extended Memphis' winning streak to eight games, the longest active streak in the FBS, and marked a fourth-consecutive home win over an SEC foe. Memphis has scored 20 or more points in 44 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation.
- Syracuse (3-1): The Orange scored 10 points before Clemson took possession of the ball and never looked back, earning their first win in Death Valley and snapping a five-game losing streak in the series, 34-21. Syracuse held Clemson to a combined 4-of-18 on third and fourth down.
- Texas Tech (4-0): Backup quarterback Will Hammond came on in relief of injured starter Behren Morton and engineered four scoring drives to lead Texas Tech to a 34-10 win at No. 16 Utah in the teams' first meeting since 1973. Hammond threw for 169 yards and a career-high two touchdowns and rushed for 61 yards. Texas Tech is 4-0 for the first time since 2013 and now owns back-to-back road wins vs. ranked opponents (topped then-No. 10 Iowa State 23-22 on Nov. 2, 2024).
- Tulsa (2-2): The Golden Hurricane won in Stillwater for the first time since 1951, topping Oklahoma State, 19-12, Friday for its first win in the Gateway First Bank Turnpike Classic series since 1998. Baylor Hayes completed 23-of-36 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown and Oklahoma State transfer Dominic Richardson ran a career-high 31 times for 146 yards. Seth Morgan’s four field goals were the difference for Golden Hurricane.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.