BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WAND) - Illinois football's 63-10 loss to Indiana Saturday night was its worst result as an AP ranked team.
In the latest rankings the Illini slid 14 spots from #9 to #23 in the nation, while the Hoosiers climbed from #19 to #11.
There is not a singular area that enabled Indiana to top Illinois as they did, rather, better performance in a variety of categories. The Illini surrendered 7 sacks on quarterback Luke Altmyer, rushed for just 2 yards overall, and allowed several broken tackles by the Hoosiers' offensive weapons.
Following the game, players said they just want to flush the game from their memory and move on to the next task at hand.
"A big quote that I like is, 'Can you commit to the process without being emotionally tied to results?'," said senior linebacker Dylan Rosiek. "We didn't have the result we wanted tonight, but at the end of day, we've got to commit to the process just as we did this week."
Altmyer added that their returning experience will enable them to get over the hump. Seasoned veterans who have faced setbacks previously have learned from past lessons and know how to respond after a tough week.
"You've got to move on," Altmyer said. "Saturday is coming. Next Saturday is going to be here. and the sun's going to come up tomorrow and there's going to be, you know, work to be done. We've been through a lot. A lot of these players have played together and been through a lot of highs, a lot of lows, and know how to just keep moving forward."
A major question entering their next matchup, a home game against now #21 USC, is the health of the secondary as the week progresses. Following the game, Head Coach Bret Bielema said 6 of the top 7 defensive backs went out during the game.
Kaleb Patterson left the game in crutches and a boot on his foot. Matthew Bailey left action following a concussion. Torrie Cox exited the game following a hit to his abdomen. Xavier Scott was listed as "out" on the pregame injury report and did not see action. The list of injured players has added up.
In addition, Miles Scott was ejected against IU for a targeting call, thus, prohibiting him from playing the first half of the Illini's next game.
Illinois will take on USC from Gies Memorial Stadium at 11am on September 27.
Copyright 2025. WAND TV. All rights reserved.
