Schedule Breakdown: Indiana Football's 2022 Big Ten West Opponents

Indiana football opens its season with a Friday Night Lights matchup against Illinois. The Hoosiers will take on Big Ten West opponent Nebraska in week five, and finish the regular season playing the in-state rival Purdue Boilermakers in Bloomington.

USA Today

For the second year in a row, Indiana will open its season against a Big Ten West opponent. The immediate jump into conference play didn't bode well last year, as the Hoosiers started their season with a 34-6 loss at Iowa.

But Indiana has a chance to start the 2022 campaign with a win as it hosts the Illinois Fighting Illini in a Friday Night Lights matchup on Sept. 2. After three non-conference games, the Hoosiers will travel to Nebraska on Oct. 1 and conclude their regular season at Memorial Stadium against Purdue on Nov. 26.

Let's break down Indiana's 2022 Big Ten West opponents. 

Week 1: Illinois

• Last matchup: Indiana defeated Illinois 24-14 on Nov. 11, 2017 for its fourth win of the season, breaking a four-game losing streak. Quarterback Richard Lagow completed passes to 10 different receivers in a 289-yard, two-touchdown performance. The Indiana defense intercepted Illinois quarterback Jeff George Jr. twice, and held the Illini to 33 rushing yards. 
  
• 2021 record: 5-7
  
• When and where: 8 p.m. ET, Friday Sept. 2, 2022, Bloomington, Ind. 
  
• The Scout: Brett Bielema enters his second season as the head coach at Illinois. Quarterback Brandon Peters is now on the Los Angeles Chargers, leaving Rutgers transfer and IMG Academy product Artur Sitkowski as the only quarterback with playing experience at Illinois. Sitkowski completed 50 percent of his passes for 704 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. But after breaking his arm in Illinois' nine-overtime win over Penn State, Sitkowski will likely start the season as the backup to Syracuse transfer Tommy Devito. Devito started all 12 games for Syracuse as a sophomore, but played in seven total games across the next two seasons. He has a career 58.9 completion percentage with 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. 1,000-yard rusher Chase Brown and 500-yard rusher Josh McCray return to form a solid backfield for Illinois, and leading receiver Isaiah Williams is back after a 500-yard redshirt freshman season. Leading tacklers Sydney Brown and Tarique Barnes return for the Illini, depsite the loss of Kerby Joseph who had five interceptions in 2021.

Week 5: Nebraska

• Last matchup: Indiana won 38-31 at Nebraska to qualify for a bowl game eight weeks into the season. Peyton Ramsey racked up 402 all-purpose yards with three touchdowns, and Whop Philyor caught 14 passes for 178 yards. Nebraska gained 514 total yards, but the Indiana defense recovered a fumble and got a key fourth down stop in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
• 2021 record: 3-9
• When and where: 7 or 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday Oct. 1, 2022, Lincoln, Neb.
• The Scout: All nine of Nebraska's losses in 2021 came by less than 10 points. The Cornhuskers had chances to win nearly every game they played, but always seemed to crumble down the stretch. Entering his fifth season as head coach, it's time for Scott Frost to start finishing games or his seat will continue to get hot. Quarterback Adrian Martinez transferred to Kansas State, but Frost got a huge pickup through the transfer portal in quarterback Casey Thompson from Texas, who completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,422 yards and 30 touchdowns, while rushing 73 times for 210 yards and five scores.  Leading tacklers Luke Reimer and Nick Henrich are back, but Nebraska will have to replace All-Big Ten cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who was a second-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Week 12: Purdue

• Last matchup: Purdue defeated Indiana 44-7 in the final leg of Indiana's disastrous 2021 season. Indiana was on its fourth quarterback, walk-on Grant Gremel, and gained 147 total yards. Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell completed 26-of-31 passes for 277 yards and four touchdowns. 
  
• 2021 record: 9-4
  
• When and where: Time TBA, Saturday Nov. 26, 2022, Bloomington, Ind. 
  
• The Scout: Aidan O'Connell is an under-the-radar Heisman Trophy candidate after passing for 3,711 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with a 71.8 completion percentage in 2021. But he'll have to recover from the departure of All-Big Ten wide receiver David Bell, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns after a 1,286-yard season. The Boilermakers also lose their top pass rusher George Karlaftis, who tied for the team lead in sacks last season before becoming a first-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs. Leading tackler Jaylan Alexander is also gone, but Purdue returns Cam Allen, who led the team with four interceptions last season. 

Related stories on Indiana football:

• SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Indiana hosts Idaho and Western Kentucky in weeks two and three before completing its home-and-home series at Cincinnati in week four. Here's an early look at each non-conference opponent. CLICK HERE
• DONAVEN MCCULLEY MOVING TO RECEIVER: Donaven McCulley appeared in seven games at quarterback for Tom Allen and the Indiana football team as a true freshman, but he could be making a positional change ahead of his sophomore season. Indiana play-by-play announcer Don Fischer said McCulley has embraced the move to wide receiver. CLICK HERE
• MICAH MCFADDEN'S IMPACT ON GIANTS: CBS Sports NFL analyst Chris Trapasso included former Indiana linebacker Micah McFadden on his list of non-first round draft picks who could shine as rookies. McFadden was selected the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. CLICK HERE