'A mock playoff game': BTN analyst breaks down Indiana-Illinois matchup

While the College Football Playoff field won’t be determined and announced for a few months, one of the deciding games of the season will make its way through Bloomington this weekend. It’s a top-20 matchup between No. 9 Illinois and No. 19 Indiana — both programs with playoff aspirations.

Despite the result, each program will have other opportunities this season to add quality wins to its resume. But, with neither team expected to win the conference, an at-large bid will determine their expected fate. And that means, head-to-head could be a critical factor three months from now when the field is announced.

Illinois plays No. 25 USC next week and still has No. 1 Ohio State on its schedule — both at home. Indiana goes on the road to Iowa next week, always a difficult place to win, and No. 8 Oregon and No. 2 Penn State on the road as well.

So, while opportunities remain — there’s no doubt Saturday acts as close to a ‘play-in’ game as possible.

“Illinois against Indiana is effectively a play-in, a mock playoff game,” Big Ten analyst Jake Butt said. “Two teams, two coaches in (Curt) Cignetti and (Bret) Bielema who have built these programs the right way. Two complete football games, both had successful football seasons last year, returned a ton of experience and both added key players in the transfer portal to fill out their rosters. This will be a heavyweight clash.”

While Indiana is coming off of an 11-2 record and playoff appearance in 2024, Illinois finished 10-3 with a win against South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl. It had a ranked win against Kansas and Nebraska — though neither school finished in the top 25 by the end of the year.

The Illini bring back one of the more experienced quarterbacks in the country in Luke Altmyer, two of its top three rushers in Kaden Feagin and Aidan Laughery and its third leading wideout Hank Beatty. Preseason All-American linebacker Gabe Jacas leads a defense that also returns defensive backs Miles Scott, Xavier Scott and Torrie Cox Jr all after having multiple interceptions a year ago.

In fact, Illinois returns 18 starters from a season ago which ranks first in the nation. It’s also the only program to return its offensive and defensive coordinators and quarterback for a third straight season.

“First off, bigger picture, they’re a really good football team. They’ve got a lot of good players, a lot of veteran players,” Cignetti said on Monday. “Coach Bielema does a great job, he and his staff in all three phases, offense, defense, special teams, veteran quarterback, have a lot of talent, very accurate, can extend plays. He’s won a bunch of games for Illinois.

“And that’s the one thing about Illinois, is they know what it takes, the success they had last year, returning a good nucleus of guys and added some new ones. Very much kind of like us, good core return that understands what it takes. So ought to be a great match-up.”

Indiana — like Illinois – is a veteran team at nearly every position. In total, it has 29 players in their final year of eligibility, fifth most in the FBS and tied with Illinois.

So, with two veteran and talented rosters, what will Saturday’s game come down to? Butt explains.

“What I’m looking for in this game — it’s a classic Big Ten matchup,” Butt said. “It’s how they run the ball. Indiana has been running all through whoever is in their way — bigger test in Illinois. The one question I have with Illinois is their offensive line. Duke was able to get pressure on Altmyer. He adjusted, but especially to take some pressure off your quarterback, can Illinois run the football, especially on the road?”

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