BLOOMINGTON — Oregon’s starting lineup doesn’t quite have the star power of Indiana football’s most recent opponents, Ohio State and Alabama, but the majority of coach Dan Lanning’s homegrown recruits who will start in the Peach Bowl are top-100 players.
The No. 5 Ducks (13-1) will start a pair of 5-star recruits in the Peach Bowl against the No. 1 Hoosiers (14-0) and eight former top-100 prospects.
Lanning signed five of those top-100 recruits straight out of high school, including receiver Dakorien Moore, the No. 4 overall-ranked recruit in the 2025 signing class. The number of five-stars in Oregon’s starting lineup is likely to increase in the coming years, with the team having seven 5-star prospects over the last two recruiting cycles, according to 247 Sports composite rankings.
Indiana has never signed a 5-star recruit out of high school and only has one former top-100 player (E.J. Williams) in its starting lineup.
This will be IU’s third straight matchup against a former 5-star quarterback, with each of them — Oregon’s Dante Moore (2023), Alabama’s Ty Simpson (2022), and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin (2024) — coming from different signing classes.
Moore threw for 186 yards (61.85) with a touchdown and two interceptions in a 30-20 loss to the Hoosiers earlier this season. He was sacked a season-high six times and pressured on 20 of his 42 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the recruiting rankings for this year’s Peach Bowl participants:
Indiana football’s quarterbacks vs. Oregon
Indiana football’s skill positions vs. Oregon
Indiana football’s offensive line vs Oregon
Indiana football’s defensive line vs. Oregon
Indiana football’s linebackers vs. Oregon
Indiana football’s secondary vs. Oregon
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: How do IU football’s starters stack up vs Oregon? What the star rankings say
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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