Indiana Football Spurned by ESPN's College GameDay for Illinois Showdown

No. 22 Indiana's highly-anticipated matchup with No. 9 Illinois won't be accompanied by the presence of ESPN's College GameDay.

Rather than venturing to Bloomington before the Hoosiers (3-0) host the Fighting Illini (3-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC, College GameDay announced Saturday night it will be attending unranked Florida (1-2) at No. 5 Miami (3-0).

Indiana vs. Illinois is one of three games featuring undefeated ranked opponents in Week 4. No. 20 Utah hosts No. 21 Texas Tech, and No. 13 Oklahoma hosts No. 24 Auburm.

College GameDay chose none.

Indiana played three games with College GameDay present last season, but only once in Bloomington. The Hoosiers hosted the GameDay crew before their Oct. 26 matchup with Washington, a game Indiana won 31-17 with backup quarterback Tayven Jackson.

College GameDay also held on-site shows prior to the Hoosiers' lone two losses — a Nov. 23 defeat at Ohio State and a Dec. 20 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The GameDay crew attended Texas at Ohio State in Week 1, Michigan at Oklahoma in Week 2 and Georgia at Tennessee in Week 3.

Even without the presence of college football's premier pre-game show, Indiana anticipates a tremendous atmosphere Saturday night in Memorial Stadium. The program announced tickets were sold out in late July, and there's a "red-out" theme slated for the crowd.

Following the Hoosiers' 73-0 victory over Indiana State on Friday, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said he expects the team's matchup with Illinois to be "electric." Fernando Mendoza, the Hoosiers' starting quarterback who transferred from Cal last winter, said he chose Indiana to be part of games with this magnitude.

"Everyone says Big Ten, and I want to play in the Big Ten, and that's the reason why I came here to play great opponents like Illinois," Mendoza said Friday night. "So, next week, I got to take a big step. Our offense needs to take another big step in order to be successful the way we want to, because Illinois is a fantastic organization and team."

Indiana redshirt junior receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who tied the school record with four touchdown catches against Indiana State, said postgame he believes the Hoosiers' experience playing in big-game atmospheres last season will help them Saturday versus Illinois.

"I feel like that game is going to show us what we're capable of this year," Cooper said. "I feel like that's going to be our first real big test. So, being able to go out there is going to be fun, and it's going to be a great atmosphere. So, I'm excited."

But College GameDay won't be present to capture it.