Final: Indiana routs Oregon 56-22

ATLANTA — The Oregon Ducks’ season has come to an end in disastrous fashion. Again.

A year after the Ducks laid an egg in the Rose Bowl against Ohio State, Oregon had its doors blown off by No. 1 Indiana on Friday in the Peach Bowl, 56-22. 

Win the win, Indiana advanced to its first national championship in program history. The Hoosiers will face former Oregon coach Mario Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes, who defeated Ole Miss 31-27 on Thursday in the Fiesta Bowl. 

The Ducks were out of it from the start. Oregon’s first play from scrimmage ended up as a pick-six, as quarterback Dante Moore dropped back, fired to his left and hit Indiana defender D’Angelo Ponds straight in the chest.  

For Moore, the bad day was just getting started. 

Moore would turn the ball over two more times in the first half — a pair of fumbles — as Indiana pushed to a 35-7 lead at the break. 

For those keeping score at home, that’s a larger spread than Oregon’s embarrassing first half against the Buckeyes last year. 

Heisman Trophy-winner Fernando Mendoza threw five touchdowns for Indiana, defensive end Daniel Ndukwe had a pair of sacks and the Hoosiers stopped the Ducks twice on fourth down. 

And now, like last year, the Ducks have eight months to figure out how to come back from another massive setback.

A full story will be posted later tonight.

5:13 4Q: 56. That’s how many points Indiana has now. A week after Oregon pitched a shutout against Texas Tech, the Ducks have allowed 56 points.

It’s 56-15 Indiana now after Kaelon Black’s 23-yard score.

11:36 4Q: Well, folks, that should about do it. Down 27 points and facing a fourth-and-6, the Oregon Ducks waived the white flag by sending the punt unit onto the field.

Indiana didn’t seem to care. The Hoosiers blocked James Ferguson-Reynolds’ punt, then Fernando Mendoza tossed his fifth touchdown pass of the game to give Indiana a 49-15 lead.

7:50 3Q: The Ducks haven’t quite given up yet. A 71-yard run from Dierre Hill Jr. set up a 2-yard Jay Harris touchdown run. The Ducks then converted the 2-point conversion on a pass from Dante Moore to Jamari Johnson.

It’s 42-15, Hoosiers.

8:52 3Q: Indiana got the ball to open the half. Indiana scored on said drive. It’s 42-7 Hoosiers.

End of first half: The Ducks end the half with a 56-yard field goal attempt from Atticus Sappington that fell well short.

The Indiana Hoosiers lead 35-7 going into the break. For those keeping score, that’s a larger halftime deficit than last season’s blowout loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

0:59 2Q: Dante Moore turned the ball over again. The Indiana Hoosiers capitalized again. This time Moore’s turnover came when he was sacked on 2nd-and-6 from Oregon’s 29. He was walloped by Daniel Ndukwe, who popped the ball free before Mario Landino recovered on Oregon’s 21. 

Playing with a short field, the Hoosiers moved the ball up to the goal line and finally scored when Fernando Mendoza found Elijah Sarrat for a 1-yard score. 

It’s now Indiana 35, Oregon 7

3:13 2Q: This one might be close to getting out of hand. After Oregon’s offense did nothing with its next possession, the Hoosiers got the ball on their own 39 and took just four plays and 1:44 off the clock to score again — this time a 36-yard touchdown pass from Fernando Mendoza to Charlie Becker. 

It’s Indiana 28, Oregon 7 

8:17 Q2: Remember before the game when I wrote that Oregon would only go as far as Dante Moore would take them? Well, Indiana just scored its second touchdown that came as a result of a Moore turnover. After Oregon’s defense forced a punt, Moore and the offense came out on their own 13. Moore took the snap, faked a handoff and then tried to throw the ball — yet fumbled.

Indiana took over on Oregon’s 3-yard line. Three plays later, the Hoosiers punched it in for the 21-7 lead.

0:40 Q1: The Hoosiers finally got the ball and did plenty with it. Indiana countered Oregon’s touchdown with its own 11-play, 75-yard drive. The Hoosiers converted a pair of third downs on the drive and capped it off with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Fernando Mendoza to Omar Cooper Jr.

It’s Indiana 14, Oregon 7 here at the end of the first quarter.

7:11 Q1: OK, Oregon fans, you can breathe a bit. Yes, the game started as badly as possible for the Ducks. But Oregon has responded with a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took 7:38 off the clock. It was capped by Moore finding Jamari Johnson for a 19-yard touchdown pass. 

It’s 7-7 here, early, and the Hoosiers are getting set for their first offensive possession. 

To note: Of Oregon’s six carries by running backs, five of them have come from Jay Harris. 

14:49 1Q: Oregon got the ball first and the Ducks took the field to a nearly entire stadium screaming in their ears. Dante Moore dropped back on the first snap, threw to his left and found the open arms of Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds, who returned the interception for a touchdown. 

Eleven seconds into the Peach Bowl, Indiana leads 7-0. 

5:56 p.m. (EST): Hello from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. We’re about two hours away from kickoff here between the Oregon Ducks and Indiana Hoosiers and the story so far is the Indiana fanbase.

Red shirts fill the streets, hotels, bars and sidewalks here in Georgia — and it’s hard to go more than a few seconds out in public without hearing a “Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers.”

The Ducks and Hoosiers are out on the field below us getting loose. Of note: Oregon running back Noah Whittington just took the field with the running backs. Oregon’s senior RB was listed as questionable at the start of the week.

***

ATLANTA — It’s hard to beat a team twice, right?

It’s the saying that’s been passed around Eugene over the eight days since the Ducks beat Texas Tech 23-0 in the Orange Bowl.

Because next up is the Peach Bowl. Next up is the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Next up is Indiana — the only team in the nation to beat Oregon this season.

The Hoosiers got the Ducks 30-20 at Autzen Stadium back in October. Neither team has lost since, leaving both just two wins away from the first football national championships in their program’s history.

For Oregon, it’s been a gradual climb from the foundation Mike Bellotti built, with peaks (see: Kelly, Chip), valleys (Willie Taggart is a running backs coach now, by the way) and an eventual return toward the top in Dan Lanning’s fourth season.

Indiana? The Hoosiers are college football’s new darlings, a team transformed on the sideline by head coach Curt Cignetti and on the field through the transfer portal.

“This game is going to be what college football is about,” Lanning said. “I think you see two tough teams, two teams that are really complete.”

Said Cignetti: “I know I said it’s hard to beat a good team twice. Well, it’s hard to beat a great team, period.”

Indiana is a great team. Oregon is a great team.

And we here at Lookout are excited to be on site at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for what’s shaping up to be a great game.

Below is what you need to know before kickoff. Then make sure you bookmark this page, as I’ll be providing live updates before and during the game.

📺 how to watch or listen 📻

When: 4:30 p.m. (PT), Jan. 9

Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

TV Channel: ESPN

Radio: KUGN-AM 590 and KUJZ 95.3 in Eugene 

who’s playing

Opponent: Indiana (14-0, 9-0 Big Ten) 

Depth Chart/rosters: Oregon; Indiana

Indiana player to watch: Aiden Fisher, linebacker

By now, Oregon fans are pretty familiar with Indiana’s offensive weapons. The Hoosiers have the Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback. They have a dynamic duo at running back and a pair of Big Ten all-conference selections at wide receiver.

But the reason Indiana beat Oregon back in October was because the Ducks couldn’t figure out the Hoosiers’ defense.

Fisher, who finished the season as a first-team all-Big Ten linebacker, tallied 13 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against the Ducks in Round 1. And after a season in which he posted 84 tackles, 8.0 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble, Fisher would have Oregon’s full attention on Friday if it weren’t for the fact that next to him stands Rolijah Hardy — who also earned all-conference honors and finished with 92 tackles, 14 TFLs and eight sacks.

The Hoosiers come in waves on defense, which Oregon quarterback Dante Moore said had him “seeing ghosts” back in October.

“It helps our defense with the diversity where we can show a blitz when we’re not coming, we can show a blitz when we are coming,” Fisher said. “And I think for an offense or offensive line, and a quarterback especially, that really messes with your head and kind of throws a lot of protections off.”

Oregon player to watch: Any running back

Look, the Ducks are only going to go as far as Moore allows them to in this game. If Moore keeps seeing ghosts, if he turns the ball over, if he’s sacked six times again — Oregon is going to struggle. 

But here’s the thing: Moore can be excellent against Indiana and the Ducks could still lose. The Hoosiers are that good. 

So, let’s talk about the running backs. 

Jayden Limar and Makai Hughes have hit the transfer portal. 

Jordon Davison is out with an injury. 

And while the saving grace coming into Friday was that the Ducks still had Noah Whittington and Dierre Hill Jr. available, that came into question Thursday afternoon when Whittington was listed as questionable on the injury report.

In Round 1 against Indiana, the Ducks rushed for just 81 yards. They must be better than that on Friday, however and whoever those yards come by. 

fit check

🔖 reads to get ready for the game 🔖

In case you missed any of our coverage earlier this week

The Duck Report: Return to Atlanta

Oregon’s playoff travels are nothing compared to the ’85 Mirage Bowl

For the Ducks, Peach Bowl revenge against Indiana is on the line

The Orange Bowl was different. But Oregon? Same as always. 

Learn more about Indiana

Curt Cignetti addresses if he’s ever happy during Peach Bowl press conference

Curt Cignetti taught Indiana football how to dream

NFL Mock Draft: Fernando Mendoza vs. Dante Moore

📷 Relive Round 2 📷

🎥 watch the inside look 🎥

🎧 listen to the traffic report 🎧

On Apple. On Spotify.