BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football is sticking to what works.
For the No. 7 Hoosiers (5-0; 2-0 Big Ten), that means treating the game against No. 2 Oregon (5-0; 2-0) — a top 10 matchup between undefeated teams — the same way it views every other game on the schedule.
“Iowa was the biggest game of my career, and now it will be this game just because it’s the next one we’ve got to go win,” IU linebacker Aiden Fisher said. “Obviously, I know the media and the narrative that this is a big game. I think it is that way because we’ve kind of earned to be a really good football team just as they have, but I’m not going to put too much pressure or emphasis on it. It’s the next game on our schedule.”
For more on IU’s Week 7 matchup, jump into our weekly preview, The Runout, for what stood out during the week, players to watch, a prediction and more.
Indiana football vs. Oregon: Tale of the tape
Indiana football players to watch vs Oregon
Fernando Mendoza, QB: Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza will be looking for a better outcome when he returns to the site of one of his first career starts on Saturday. Cal lost 63-19 to Oregon in 2023, with Mendoza throwing for 177 yards on 52.9% passing and an interception in their contest.
He has a lot more experience under his belt, a better offensive line and more weapons at his disposal than the last go-around.
Mendoza had some shaky moments against Iowa, but the defining images from that game will be the way he rallied the troops by putting his body on the line to gain a first down in the fourth quarter and his game-winning touchdown throw with pressure coming up the middle to Elijah Sarratt.
Everyone in the locker room appreciates Mendoza’s drive to be great; this will the opportunity to meet the moment and give IU a season-defining win that sets the program up to be a near-lock to reach the College Football Playoff barring some unforeseen disaster.
Roman Hemby, RB: Hemby is one of the few players on the team who has faced Oregon. Last season, he had 11 carries for 34 yards with a touchdown in Maryland’s 39-18 loss to the Ducks at Autzen Stadium. He didn’t force a single missed tackle and only had 19 yards after contact.
He’s going to need to be more effective than that for the Hoosiers to break through on Saturday against a defensive line that features serious size on the interior and held Penn State’s dynamic duo, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, to a combined 75 yards (3.3 yards per carry) just a few weeks ago.
The Ducks also haven’t allowed any running back this season to top 80 yards and have only allowed 10 runs of 10-plus yards (tied for sixth in the FBS).
D’Angelo Ponds, CB: Iowa’s passing attack didn’t exactly light the world on fire against Indiana with 192 yards, but there were plenty of moments in the game where it felt like Ponds’ presence would have helped the Hoosiers get off the field.
The Hoosiers had to rely more on zone coverages after he was a late scratch from the lineup with a lower body injury.
Cignetti told reporters on Monday that he expects Ponds to play against Oregon, a team with one of the most explosive offenses in the country. Having Ponds back is a huge boost for IU since he basically locks down one side of the field, not to mention the contributions he makes on specials teams.
The best pure one-on-one matchup might be between Ponds and Oregon’s electric true freshman receiver Dakorien Moore, a former five-star recruit out of Texas. Moore leads the Ducks in targets (28), receptions (19), receiving yards (296), contested catches (four) and average target depth (15.1).
Indiana football: Week 7 Odds and Ends
Friendly skies: Cignetti is sticking to the travel plan that set his team up for success on last year’s West Coast trip. He prefers leaving as late in the day as possible on Friday and spending as little time as possible away from Bloomington on road trips. As the Big Ten has expanded, coaches have tried out different strategies. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore recently announced his team would leave on Thursday for its game this weekend against USC to give his players more time to acclimate to the time change. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule is doing the same thing for his team’s upcoming trip to Maryland. “There’s not much to figure out,” Cignetti said. “That’s what we do every game. We get in about the same time in the evening, and we’ve got our routine. It’s just the way I like to do it.”
Farm life: Iowa held Indiana to just 104 yards rushing, but the Hoosiers still managed to put up more 10-plus yards runs (six) than the Hawkeyes had given up all season (four). Indiana goes into its game against Oregon tied for the fifth most runs of 10-plus yards (42) and 20-plus yards (13) in the country. Ducks coach Dan Lanning is well aware of those numbers and talked about the importance of slowing IU’s backfield down this week. “Those guys have good quickness,” Lanning said. “They hit the hole, get vertical quickly, and that’s certainly what sets everything else up in the run game.” The advice he gave to players? “Farm your land,” he said. “You have to do your job, trust the guy next to you to do his and then rally to the ball when it is decided where that ball’s going.”
Tip of the cap: Cignetti opened his press conference with the highest bit of praise he’s ever offered an opposing coach or player while discussing the job Lanning has done in Eugene. He described the 39-year-old coach as one of the game’s “young coaching phenoms.” Lanning returned the favor during his weekly press conference by consistently referring to Indiana as a “well-coached team” and one example he give to highlight the point was its offense running the same play multiple times per game. “The window dressing might be different, but they know how to run this play,” Lanning said. “It’s not about inventing new offense. It’s about running it better than you and executing it better than you. And they do a really good job of that.”
Indiana football stat of the week
7: In 18 games with Cignetti as coach, Indiana football has blocked seven kicks, the most of any team in the Big Ten during that span. The Hoosiers blocked punts in each of their last two games — one was returned for a touchdown — and it was the first time since 2016 they blocked kicks in consecutive weeks. Indiana also has one of the top punt returners in the country with Jonathan Brady averaging 19.8 yards per return (4th in the FBS) and have the fourth most touchbacks (34).
Indiana football quote of the week
Prediction: Oregon 31, Indiana 20
Indiana is going to make this game more competitive than the ones they lost in Columbus and South Bend last year.
Much of the discussion around the game has been centered on the quarterback battle between Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore. They are both worthy of the attention, but I think Indiana’s defense will ultimately decide this game.
Oregon has only been held to less than 30 points three times going back to 2023 and finished with less than 400 yards just seven times. If the Hoosiers can hold the Ducks to less than 30, they will have a real shot to pull off an upset.
After watching IU dismantle a veteran-laden Illinois team and survive a tough game at Kinnick Stadium, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this be a one-possession game going into the fourth quarter with Oregon pulling out a victory in the final minutes.
Things could get interesting if the programs have a rematch later this season in Indy.
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: The Runout: Preview, prediction for Indiana football Week 7 game against Oregon
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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