Lessons From Indiana-Oregon Regular Season Matchup Before the Peach Bowl

No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon meet in the Peach Bowl on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) with a national championship appearance at stake. The Big Ten foes have already met once – a 30-20 win for the Hoosiers in Eugene – and now will be pitted against one another in a rematch for the ages. So, what can be taken from their previous matchup – and how may it affect the Peach Bowl? Here’s what we learned from that early October contest.

What we learned from Indiana's regular season matchup with Oregon and how it will affect the semifinal contest

Indiana’s creative schemes can pose problems for Dante Moore

The Hoosiers’ defense is predicated on pre-snap disguises. They’ve feasted on inexperienced quarterbacks – and, in all honesty, all QBs – for that exact reason.

“In a lot of ways, you’d call it an illusion defense,” said Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, ahead of Friday’s Peach Bowl matchup. “They show you one thing and they take something else away. They’re really good at post-snap movement, which makes it difficult for the quarterback.”

Indeed it was quite difficult for Oregon QB Dante Moore in the regular season matchup, as the gunslinger threw for 186 yards (21-for-34), one touchdown and two interceptions.

Indiana’s defensive variety was a problem for the Ducks from the jump. On the first play of the game, the Hoosiers rotate from single high to Cover 2, taking away the crosser Dante Moore wants to Gary Bryant Jr. before getting pressure with a twist on the inside for an early sack pic.twitter.com/YZUJeOrLds
— John Evans (@_jpevans_) October 13, 2025

That said, Moore has played – and won – eight games since that outing. How does a quarterback grow in recognizing pre-snap disguises and post-snap adjustments? Experience.

“You [have] got to remember when we played earlier in the season, Dante hadn’t played a ton of games. And as you play an entire season, you get exposed to different looks and you learn from those moments,” said Lanning.

Last time around, those split-second hesitations and delays in progressions, as Moore had to wrap his head around Indiana’s post-snap defense, turned into six sacks. The question now is: has Moore’s experience prepared him for this moment – and has he grown enough to find success against this juggernaut Hoosiers defense?

Finding rhythm on the ground is going to be relatively difficult for both squads

Indiana Hoosiers running back Roman Hemby (1) rushes into the end zone Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, during the 112th annual Rose Bowl game in Pasadena. Indiana Hoosiers defeated Alabama Crimson Tide, 38-3. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana’s dangerous rushing attack, which registers 220.7 yards per game (top among all College Football Playoff teams), was held to just 111 yards on 37 carries against Oregon (3.0 yards per rush). The Ducks’ stout defensive line suffocated the Hoosiers’ ground game, but the reverse was (mostly) true, as well.

Lanning’s troops happen to scamper for 206.1 rushing yards per outing (second among CFP teams), yet they managed just 81 on 30 totes (2.7 yards per carry). Worth noting, though, taking away Moore’s rushes and his sacks – which are counted as negative runs in college football – Oregon went for a solid 108 yards on 21 carries (5.14 yards per carry).

Although that isn’t exactly domination, that’s solid efficiency, meaning the ground game could perhaps be a potential weapon for the Ducks in this Peach Bowl matchup.

The team that wins the QB battle wins the game

As previously mentioned, Moore struggled immensely in this first matchup. There’s no way around that. His two fourth-quarter interceptions may have been the most notorious part of his performance, but Moore was searching for answers – and coming up empty-handed – long before those picks.

Meanwhile, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza was wheeling and dealing all afternoon. Aside from that pick-six, Mendoza was spectacular, finishing the contest 20-for-31 with 215 passing yards, one touchdown and that interception, not to mention six carries for 31 yards.

On top of that, Mendoza was winning in the battle the numbers can’t quantify: controlling the game. A true game-manager in every sense of the phrase, Mendoza is always pushing the right buttons, keeping defenses on their toes and playing with an unteachable sense of poise – and he did all of that against Oregon. Without that pick-six, the Hoosiers likely would’ve won that game by three scores – that’s how dominant they were on both sides of the football.

Mendoza won that matchup – and now he’s won the Heisman. But to add that final piece of hardwood to his trophy case – a national championship – he’ll need to be victorious a couple more times. And, on Friday, it’ll have to be in a head-to-head battle against the much-improved Dante Moore and his red-hot Oregon Ducks.