BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The No. 9-ranked Illinois football team lost its Big Ten opener to No. 19 Indiana, 63-10, Saturday night.
Illinois (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) tied the game 7-7 on a 59-yard touchdown pass from Luke Altmyer to Collin Dixon in the first quarter, but Indiana used a 21-point second quarter to open up the game.
Indiana (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) scored 28 unanswered points before a David Olano field goal made it 35-10 at half.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw for 267 yards and five touchdowns, including two touchdown passes to Elijah Sarratt.
Illinois' defense was led by captain Dylan Rosiek's eight tackles, including 1.0 tackles for loss.
The Fighting Illini return home next weekend to host No. 25 USC at Gies Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27. The sold-out game is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. CT on FOX.
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