'Try 5, Get 6': D'Angelo Ponds Set Tone in Indiana Football's Dominant Win vs Oregon

ATLANTA — D’Angelo Ponds was covered in reminders from perhaps the greatest night of his Indiana football career.

In one hand, he held the Peach Bowl’s Defensive MVP trophy. In the other, he held his helmet — which, on the inside, was filled with cream and crimson-colored confetti from the celebration he’d been so instrumental in creating. A few additional pieces of the paper mache confetti rested atop his name plate.

Ponds, soft-spoken and oft-overlooked due to his 5-foot-9, 173-pound frame, made the Hoosiers’ loudest, most definitive statement three-and-a-half hours prior.

A statement of intent. A statement of arrival. A statement that, by and large, served as a first-round haymaker in the No. 1 Hoosiers’ 56–22 victory over No. 5 Oregon on Friday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

On the first play from scrimmage, Oregon ran a quick-hit run/pass option. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dante Moore dropped back to pass, looked left and fired toward receiver Malik Benson, who ran an out route toward the sideline.

Before the ball reached Benson, Ponds undercut it. He raced 25 yards to the endzone and didn’t stop until he ran through it. There, he paused, put his hands on his hips and stared into the Hoosier-dominant crowd he’d sent into an uproar.

“It was an amazing feeling walking into the end zone,” Ponds said.

Ponds is no stranger to making big plays in big moments.

He had a pick-six in the first quarter of Indiana’s win over Washington in 2024, which came after the program’s first-ever appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay, and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown to kickstart a 63–10 win over then-No. 9 Illinois earlier this season.

But this stage — the College Football Playoff semifinals with a trip to the national championship on the line — stood above them all. Yet Ponds did as he’s always done: Meet the moment.

“They be saying, ‘Try five, get six,’” Indiana safety Louis Moore said, referencing Ponds’ No. 5 jersey. “So, that's what happened.”

Soon after his interception, his teammates met him in the endzone. While they rushed to celebrate, he elevated his arms, brought his hands together in the shape of Oregon’s block-O logo, and violently broke it apart.

Message? Sent.

“He set the tone for the game,” junior safety Amare Ferrell told Indiana Hoosiers On SI postgame. “Catching a pick on the first play, it does a lot to the opposing team, the confidence. They get the ball first, they throw a pick-six, it changes a lot.

“A lot of their game plan going into the game, they wanted to throw the ball. So, I mean, I feel like that was a tone setter.”

Moore said Ponds’ play was “very important” — and while it came only 11 seconds into Friday night’s game, Moore saw all he needed to know Indiana was headed for the national title game.

“When D’Lo did that, I felt like the game was over,” Moore said.

Oregon responded with a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a 19-yard pass from Moore to tight end Jamari Johnson. But the Hoosiers, Moore said, “locked in,” and the Ducks didn’t score again until midway through the third quarter.

In between Oregon’s scores, Ponds added to his career-night with a personal first: Playing offense. Through three seasons, he’d never received an offensive snap.

Leading 28–7 with less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Hoosiers faced a third-and-3 — which Indiana coach Curt Cignetti identified during offensive staff meetings as a situation conducive to getting Ponds the ball once more.

Cignetti views Ponds as the best start/stop athlete on the team, and he pairs agility with speed. The Hoosiers felt Ponds offered a change-up to Oregon’s defense, and he validated Cignetti’s belief with a different version of, as Moore said, “Try five, get six.”

Ponds aligned in the right slot and caught a quick pass from Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. He made the catch six yards behind the line of scrimmage before racing 12 yards forward, picking up the first down and positioning the Hoosiers’ offense in a goal-to-go situation.

Three plays later, Mendoza found receiver Elijah Sarratt for a touchdown to give the Hoosiers a 35–7 lead with one minute left in the first half.

Ponds nearly broke a tackle and scored an offensive touchdown. Instead, he set up the first of Sarratt’s two scores — and left the Hoosiers’ offense mesmerized by his work.

“His start/stop is incredible, if not the best in the nation,” Mendoza said. “It was man coverage, so at that point, I needed to put the ball in the vicinity of D'Angelo because although he's a defensive back, he has fantastic ball skills. He has great hands.

“He could be a receiver, he has such great hands. It was kind of an extended hand off to him and not only is he a great change of direction, great hands, he is also the fastest player on our team, too. So that helps for the first down.”

After the drive, Ponds went over to Sarratt — as much to celebrate the touchdown as discuss the improbability of what transpired three plays prior.

“(Ponds) was like, ‘Man, I never would have thought I was going to get a reception,’” Sarratt said. “So, that’s pretty cool to see him do that. Maybe we’ll have something else for him.”

Ponds did, however, anticipate Benson’s route and subsequent pick-six. Ponds aligned in Cover 3, played off coverage, read Moore’s eyes and followed Indiana cornerbacks coach Rod Ojong’s instruction of a three-step break.

Before the ear-piercing eruption in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, before the tone-setting pick-six, there was silence and clarity within Ponds’ mind. He was the smallest player on the field — and he delivered one of the biggest plays in one of the biggest wins in program history.

“As gifted as D’Angelo Ponds is athletically, he’s just as gifted mentally,” Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines said postgame. “He’s going to see that split, he’s going to see tendencies. So, I’m not surprised.”

Ponds has earned a reputation for making big plays in big moments — as big players often do. As he walked off the field Friday night, his confetti-covered shirt, confetti-filled helmet and MVP trophy reflected just how bright his star shined.

But Ponds’ teammates already knew that. Moore saw Ponds not allow receptions at any point during 7-on-7 periods this offseason or in fall camp. Ferrell saw Ponds earn All-American recognition last season.

Now, the rest of the nation is learning what Ponds taught his teammates long ago: Try five, get six.