How to Watch Indiana's Football Game Against Illinois on Friday
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The first game of the season is always important, but this one feels as crucial as ever for the Indiana football team.
Indiana started its much-anticipated 2021 season with a 34-6 loss at Iowa, which eventually spiraled into a 2-10 season where nothing went right for Tom Allen and the Hoosiers. The season opener goes a long way in determining the team's momentum and confidence, and if Indiana plans to bounce back in 2022, it has to start strong on Friday night against Illinois.
"I told our team it’s the biggest game of the season. Why? It’s the next one," Allen said. "That’s the mindset, and you understand that all of our focus is on one game at a time, but it is one game, but yeah, it’s very important.
"Any time you start with a conference game, it sets the tone with conference play and your whole season. It’s great to be able to be at home and we’re excited about that, but it’s about being fundamentally sound in all three phases, playing our best football, getting our guys out there. We’ve got a lot of new faces, and they’ve got to be able to come together and play well together and do a great job of being able to live out all the hard work we’ve done the last several months because it’s been that way and our kids are excited and I can’t wait to get on the field with them.”
Here's how to watch Indiana's game with the Illinois Fighting Illini, with gametime and TV information, the latest on the point spread and information on the coaches and the game.
- *** LIVE BLOG: And once the game starts, follow all the action on our live blog. To read that story, CLICK HERE.
How to watch Indiana Hoosiers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini
- Who: Indiana Hoosiers (2-10, 0-9 in Big Ten last year) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0, defeated Wyoming 38-6 in Week 0.)
- What: 2022 Indiana football season opener
- When: 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 2
- Where: Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
- TV: FOX Sports 1
- Announcers: Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Spencer Tillman (analyst)
- Stream: Watch fuboTV
- Radio: Indiana Hoosiers Sports Network, Sirius/Online: XM (84) // SXM App (84)
- Radio Announcers: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Rhett Lewis (analyst), Joe Smith, John Herrick
- Point spread: Indiana is a 1.5-point favorite over Illinois according to the SIsportsbook.com website as of Friday morning. The over/under is 45.5 points.
- Season totals: According to the FanDuel Sportsbook, Indiana's 2022 regular season win total over/under is 4. Illinois' 2022 regular season win total over/under was 4.5 prior to their 38-6 win over Wyoming in Week 0.
- Last season's records: Indiana was 2-10 overall with a 0-9 record in Big Ten play in 2021. Illinois went 5-7 overall with a 4-5 mark in the Big Ten last year.
- Series history: Illinois leads the all-time series 45-24-2. Indiana has won the last three contests, and Illinois' most recent win over Indiana came on Oct. 8, 2011 in a 41-20 win at Indiana.
- Last meeting: The teams last met on Nov. 11, 2017 in Bloomington, Ind. when the Hoosiers took home a 24-14 win. Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow completed 32-of-48 pass attempts for 289 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Indiana outrushed Illinois 139-33, and Indiana defensive lineman Jacob Robinson had two sacks on the day. Indiana cornerback Rashard Fant sealed the win with an interception with 3:01 left in the game. Fant had three pass break-ups in the game, giving him an NCAA-leading 52 pass breakups on the season.
- Coaches: Bret Bielema is in his second year at Illinois. He most recently spent three seasons in the NFL on the New York Giants' and New England Patriots' coaching staffs. Bielema coached the Arkansas Razorbacks to a 29-34 record in five seasons from 2013 to 2017, and he won three Big Ten championships as the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers from 2006 to 2012, posting a 68-24 record overall. Tom Allen is entering his sixth season as Indiana's head coach with a 26-32 total record. Allen's 26 wins are tied for the most by a Hoosier head coach over the first five seasons with the program's all-time winningest coach, Bill Mallory. Allen is 0-3 in bowl games, most recently losing 26-20 to Ole Miss in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 2, 2021.
- Weather: According to weather.com, it's going to be 81 degrees, cloudy with a 2 percent chance of rain and winds from the south at 3 miles per hour at kickoff.
Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver D.J. Matthews Jr. (7) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown against Cincinnati Bearcats cornerback Arquon Bush (9) during the second half at Memorial Stadium. Bearcats won 38-24
© Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Three things I want to see from Indiana
1. What will the offense look like?
Tom Allen and first-year offensive coordinator Walt Bell have been about as secretive as possible regarding Indiana's new-look offense this offseason. Bell has historically run a fast-paced offense, so it will be interesting if Indiana tries to keep the Illinois defense on its heels with an uptempo pace on Friday night.
We won't know the team's starting quarterback until either Connor Bazelak or Jack Tuttle trots onto the field for the first possession, but that's only a small piece to the unknown.
Auburn transfer Shaun Shivers figures to take over as the lead running back for Indiana, bringing physicality and speed that Allen said Indiana hasn't had in the past. North Carolina transfer Josh Henderson and freshman Jaylin Lucas add depth to the running backs room, coached by Craig Johnson, who enters his first year at Indiana.
Hoping even more to not reveal anything, Bell said on Monday that Indiana will rotate eight or nine receivers on Friday night. D.J. Matthews made explosive plays for Indiana early last season, but he tore his ACL against Western Kentucky. Donaven McCulley is making the switch to wide receiver this season and brings eye-opening athleticism and size, but new receivers coach Adam Henry said McCulley still needs to polish his footwork and route running.
The remaining seven receivers that Bell hinted at playing Friday night might include North Carolina transfer Emery Simmons, junior college transfer Cam Camper, Tennessee transfer Andison Coby, Javon Swinton, Malachi Holt-Bennett, Omar Cooper Jr. and Jaquez Smith.
Allen said AJ Barner could end up being the best tight end he's had at Indiana, but the rest of the room has close to zero college football experience. Allen first mentioned offensive line play when asked about areas of necessary improvement on Wednesday, and that group will certainly play a key role in Indiana's overall offensive success.
2. Contain Illinois' run game
Coming off a 1,000-yard season and third-team All-Big Ten honors, Illinois running back Chase Brown's transition with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator looked seamless against Wyoming. Brown posted 167 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns last weekend, and Indiana defensive coordinator Chad Wilt said he's in the upper echelon of running backs in the Big Ten.
Indiana team captain and linebacker Cam Jones hasn't played Illinois in his first four seasons in college, but he noticed that Illinois found creative ways to get Brown the ball on Saturday. Jones said defensive communication will be key to limiting Brown's production, as well as following Indiana's 'Swarm D' mantra.
"[Brown] is a very explosive player," Jones said. "He’s fast out of the backfield, he runs hard, he breaks a lot of tackles ... It takes all 11 of us to swarm to the ball."
Indiana had a middle-of-the-pack run defense in the Big Ten in 2021, but the Hoosiers will need a strong, collective performance to limit Brown on Friday.
Michigan State's Darrell Stewart Jr., top, can't hold on to the ball as Indiana's Tiawan Mullen defends during the second quarter on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, in East Lansing.
© Nick King/Lansing State Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC
3. Takeaways, takeaways, takeaways
Indiana went from one of the top turnover-inducing defenses in all of college football in 2020 to the complete opposite in 2021. After 17 interceptions led to a 6-2 campaign two seasons ago, just five interceptions contributed the Hoosiers' 2-10 season in 2021.
The reasons behind this drop-off are well documented, but there are reasons to believe Indiana's turnover production in 2022 will be closer to its style of play in 2020. All-Big Ten defensive backs Tiawan Mullen, Jaylin Williams and Devon Matthews all return from an injury-riddled 2021, and led the 2020 group that so often forced opposing offenses to turn the ball over. Allen is also back to calling defensive plays for the first time since 2018, a decision stemming from frustration last year.
"That's the area that I really feel is my strength as a coach, and I want to make sure that area is right," Allen said. If it's not getting done the way you want it done, then you do it yourself, because the buck stops with me."
If the Hoosiers hope to open their season with a win, they'll need to have the upper hand in the turnover margin.
Related stories on Indiana football:
- TOM ALLEN PREVIEWS 2022 SEASON: Indiana football coach Tom Allen had his weekly show 'Inside Indiana Football' with Don Fischer at Southern Stone restaurant on Wednesday to preview the 2022 season, which begins on Friday at 8 p.m. ET against Illinois. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA'S APPROACH TO CHASE BROWN: Illinois running back Chase Brown posted over 150 yards from scrimmage with three touchdowns against Wyoming in Week 0 after a 1,000-yard rushing season in 2021. Indiana linebacker and team captain Cam Jones said all 11 defenders will need to swarm to the ball. CLICK HERE
- BIELEMA TALKS INDIANA MATCHUP: Illinois defeated Wyoming 38-6 in Week 0, and now the Illini will begin Big Ten play on the road at Indiana on Friday night. Here's what coach Bret Bielema said about the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE
