Oregon Wants Revenge. Indiana Football Has 'Same Motivation' to Prove Itself in CFP.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — On one side, elation. On the other, heartbreak.

Indiana football’s 30–20 win over Oregon on Oct. 11 served as a program-changing victory, one that marked the Hoosiers’ announcement as national championship contenders and validated the belief coach Curt Cignetti inspired in his first season in Bloomington.

Many Indiana fans who made the trip to Eugene, Ore., voyaged onto the field after the game. It was less a postgame celebration and more a decades-in-the-making party between the Hoosiers and some of their passionate followers. That, by and large, was among the highest points in program history.

But now, as No. 1 Indiana (14-0) readies to play No. 5 Oregon (13-1) in the Peach Bowl at 7:30 p.m. Friday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, IU senior linebacker Aiden Fisher wants to pay no mind to the win that changed perceptions around the program.

“It's all focused on this one, and we have to go out there and prove it again,” Fisher said Tuesday. “So, as much as our fans and the atmosphere around Indiana has loved that experience to go out there and do that, it doesn't mean anything to us now.

“This is way more important, and a game we have to be focused on 100%.”

Yet for the Ducks, the emotions still remain. Oregon had to watch as fans filed out of the stadium before the clock hit zero. The Ducks lost their first game at Autzen Stadium in nearly three years, and their first home game to a Big Ten foe since Indiana beat them in 2004.

The pain lingered in the locker room after, and such feelings remains at the forefront of Oregon's mind entering the College Football Playoff semifinals.

“We're just super hungry,” Oregon redshirt freshman defensive back Aaron Flowers said Monday. “This is a good opportunity for us to just try to just get a get-back. That loss felt horrible, especially at Autzen.”

Oregon junior outside linebacker Matayo Uiagalelei acknowledged the Ducks have an edge after the loss in Eugene. He and his teammates are eager to play and capitalize on “a chance to get a get-back,” as Flowers echoed.

History favors Oregon.

There have been five regular season rematches in the College Football Playoff, and four times, the team that lost the first meeting won the second. The lone exception came between Ole Miss and Tulane this year. Thus, in the four games between Power Four opponents, there have been no sweeps.

“It's hard to beat a great team twice. Very difficult,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said Saturday before later revisiting the subject. “I think it's more of a psychological edge maybe; the one team that came up a little short, a little added edge, so to speak.”

Fisher, however, believes Indiana has just as much of an edge, only for different reasons.

“We have the same motivation as they do,” Fisher said. “We didn't play a clean game. We didn't play our best game. So, all the mindset they have, we have the same thing. We left a lot of plays out there, and we felt like we just didn't play at a high level for that game.

“So as much as the mental games that it can play on either team, we have just as much motivation, if not more, to really prove ourselves again. Like, we have so much more to prove to play a cleaner football game and to really prove ourselves.”

Motivation and mentality aside, Cignetti said, the game is determined by what happens between the white lines.

Cignetti understands better than most that the edge doesn’t always translate to a different result. In 2016, while coaching Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Cignetti’s team lost to California (PA), 31–28, at home in the regular season. The two sides met again in the postseason, but played at California (PA), and Cignetti’s side lost once more, 44–23.

Indiana hopes such an occurrence — a repeat of the first outcome — happens again Friday in Atlanta, but the moment is drastically different than the first meeting. This time, the stakes are bigger, the lights are brighter and the teams, they say, are different.

“Second time around, we're both going to watch the tape of the first game, see what we did well, see what we didn't do well,” Cignetti said. “And (there) may be some wrinkles. Both teams will have some wrinkles, obviously, and both teams have sort of morphed since that game, because it was a while back.

“And you put the best plan together you can, but at the end of the day, it's which team executes the best play in, play out.”

Oregon coach Dan Lanning didn’t want to say where his team has improved in the near-three-months since the first matchup, though he implied the Ducks have found different strengths and adapted to them.

Indiana’s offense outgained Oregon, 326–267, and IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw for 215 yards while Oregon signal caller Dante Moore mustered only 186 yards. The Hoosiers out-rushed the Ducks, 111–81, and committed only one turnover to Oregon’s two.

Bryce Boettcher, Oregon’s senior inside linebacker, said the Ducks have “sewn some things up” defensively. Oregon installed new defensive looks when it played Indiana the first time, Boettcher said, and had to work out the kinks. Now, the Ducks are experienced-laden experts.

Oregon junior safety Dillon Thieneman feels the defense has improved its communication. Against Indiana, the Ducks committed several self-inflicted wounds, be it getting out of gaps or not having the proper run fits, that have since been cleaned up, Thieneman said.

Uiagalelei added Oregon is more mature on the defensive line and plays better collectively than it did in early October.

“Trusting the defense, trusting the scheme, not trying to do our own thing,” Uiagalelei said. “I think attacking the ball is one of the main things we've improved at in the front and the backers and in the back end. Definitely attacking the ball. Just playing more relentless, more physical.”

While the Ducks may have changed stylistically, they haven’t left their identity. Indiana left tackle Carter Smith said the Hoosiers see “a lot of similarities” between the roots of Oregon’s defense from the first meeting to the present, though he acknowledged the Hoosiers only began their in-depth deep dive Monday afternoon.

“I think that's a team that really sticks to their DNA because it works,” Smith said Monday. “It's shown against other competition this year. There's a couple schematic changes we have seen so far. It's still pretty early into the week for us.

“It's all about just keeping the main thing the main thing. Everyone has to be in their playbook and understand the schemes.”

Oregon played extensive man coverage in the first meeting, and Indiana’s receivers faced press coverage on 70% of their snaps in Eugene, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan told his players Monday morning.

Senior receiver Elijah Sarratt said the Hoosiers’ wideouts will face heavy doses of press coverage from the scout team this week in practice to be ready if the Ducks try a similar approach. Cignetti wouldn’t be surprised if Oregon differs its approach, because the Ducks have altered their coverage schemes at times down the stretch.

“I'm seeing some different things, some different techniques,” Cignetti said. “But philosophically, core base, they look very similar to what they did. There are some new things showing up. But the bottom line is, they got guys inside, (do a) good job stopping the run. They don't give up many yards rushing.

“They can put heat on the passer outside and with their pressure package, and they do a good job covering and swarming the ball and they do a nice job pre-snap of disguising their coverages.”

Indiana will make adjustments from the first meeting, Sarratt said, but also plans to carry over plays and approaches that worked in Eugene. He expects the Ducks to do the same.

“We'll see as the game starts how they want to guard us, what they're giving us,” Sarratt said, “and go from there.”

Schematics aside, Oregon learned a valuable lesson on that rainy Saturday afternoon in Eugene. The Ducks used it as a reset, Thieneman said, and were reminded they had to keep their foot on the gas for four quarters.

Two weeks prior, Oregon beat then-No. 2 Penn State on the road in a boisterous white-out atmosphere. Like Indiana, the Ducks had a bye week entering the Oct. 11 showdown. Boettcher feels Oregon let its win at Penn State influence its mentality and preparation, which contributed to Indiana’s victory.

“I think we needed that to kind of wake us up,” Boettcher said. “We came out of a big Penn State win, kind of thought we were pretty cool going into that week, pretty confident. Got a little lackadaisical with our prep, I think. It was a good wake-up call.

“The rest of the season leading up to this point is a pretty good testament to the way we responded to that loss.”

Oregon hasn’t lost since. The Ducks have won eight straight games to earn the right to a rematch with Indiana, which remains undefeated and is two games away from the first 16–0 season since 1894, when Yale accomplished the feat.

The Hoosiers are chasing history. The Ducks are chasing redemption. Both are chasing their first national championship.

On Friday night, rubber meets the road.

“I think Indiana is a good team. We're also a good team,” Boettcher said. “The better team's going to win.”

Indiana was the better team in Eugene. Both sides feel they’ve evolved — the question now becomes whether the Ducks have improved enough to turn a 10-point loss into a vengeful victory in Atlanta.

No matter, the postgame scene won’t differ much. One side will again experience elation, the other heartbreak. One will get a trip to the national championship game, the other a somber flight home. One will know it made the right adjustments from that afternoon in Eugene — while the other will be left to ponder what could’ve been.