The Reactionary Take: IUFB @ Oregon

Oct 11, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Indiana Hoosiers football fans cheer for their team after defeating the Oregon Ducks by the score of 30-20 at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images Wow. Just wow. I was on The Voice of College Football at Indiana podcast with Alec Keezer and Brad Loomis on Sunday AM to discuss the game and I just kept coming back to "wow". Indiana University football walked into Autzen Stadium and threw haymakers with Oregon and I think if that game had gone on longer, IU would have kept on scoring and kept on stopping them. Oregon had no answer for IU's front 7. IU set the tone early with a sack on the very first play of the game (doubling the total sacks Oregon had allowed on the season) and then a 4th down stop. It seemed like every time Oregon would get some momentum, IU's offense would turn around and answer with a drive of their own. IU never allowed consecutive scoring drives where they got no points in between. If Oregon scored, they didn't score again until IU scored. Oregon was never able to capitalize on the momentum like I thought they would and IU showed the insane moxie on the road that they showed at Iowa a couple weeks before but hadn't shown on the road last season at Ohio State and at Notre Dame. This year just feels different. And I'm going to break it all down on this weeks Reactionary Take. IU Reactionary Prediction: Oregon 28-24 Final Score: IU 30-20 — Indiana COVERS +7 and UNDER 51.5 Season Betting Record: 6-4 It always feels good to go 2-0 when wagering but I wish I had just picked friggin' IU to win. For as deep as I look at these games and as much as I watch going in, I typically feel like I have a good grasp on what each team is looking to do. In this one, I thought it would be tight late and IU would kick a FG in the 4th and Oregon would score late and win it. I was spot on with it not being a the high scoring game some had predicted. These are both very good defenses and I thought explosive plays would be at a premium. The one thing that spooked me about IU winning straight up was the line movement in IU's favor throughout the week. I get that the books were kind of updating their numbers given what had happened with Penn State (which is so funny, I'm sorry) but when a line moves that much in one direction it typically means the book is begging for money on the other side. Either way, I moved my record to a respectable 6-4 on the year and we'll hope to continue that winning trend when Sparty comes to town for the Old Brass Spittoon game...but that analysis is for later. The Front 7 The front 7 finished the day with 6 sacks on an offense that had given up just one (1) sack all season. They also had and 8 TFL's combined. It was one of the most dominating performances of what was an elite offense and OL I've seen, not just at IU. This was a beat down where IU was playing mind games with Oregon OC Will Stein and QB Dante Moore. They held Oregon, one of the best offenses in the sport to 267 total yards including just one (1) rushing yard in the second half and 87 for the entire game (2.7 ypc). Oregon finished 3/14 on 3rd down, had Dante Moore double his INT total from one to three and forced him into just 5.5 yards per pass attempt. Outside of one busted 44 yard busted coverage TD to WR Malik Benson, Moore couldn't get past his first read because there was pressure (or phantom pressure) from all over. I have to start with the LB's but this is going to be a long look because the front 7 was brilliant all afternoon. Aidan Fisher, Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy simply dominated Oregon on Saturday. I had questions coming into this year about how IU was going to replace Jailin Walker's sideline to sideline speed. There was a noticeable (and probably understandable) drop from when Walker was on the field to both Jones and Hardy. Jones was playing a new system after playing sparingly for a few injury plagued years and Hardy had just gotten on campus. As the season has gone on, they have put any thought that there would be a step back in LB play to rest by upping their play game after game after game. The trio finished with 34 tackles, 5.5 TFL's, 4.5 sacks, 7 pressures and a Jones INT to seal the game. Dante Moore was under pressure a whopping 45% of his drop backs and was actually better when he was blitzed than when he wasn't by PFF (30.7 passer grade when not blitzed vs 71.1 when blitzed). That is where the phantom pressures that DC Bryant Haines was dialing up were brilliant. To reiterate, Oregon was the best pass blocking unit in the nation by PFF coming into this game and they got taken to school to the tune of 37% pressure rate against run and pass overall. The phantom pressures reminded me of what Michigan did to IU last season. They would show pressure from one side, drop that pressure into coverage and bring just 4 total rushers but have it be from the opposite side. Just brilliant scouting by the entire defensive coaching staff and execution by the players knowing that Moore has a hard time getting past his first read generally and forcing him to have to do that on the fly when he doesn't know where the rush is coming from. IU's defense had, what had been, a Heisman front runner seeing ghosts all game long. Make no mistake, there were some plays there to be made in the passing game by Moore, especially over the middle of the field behind the LB's but the front 7 made it almost impossible for him to progress past his first read and Moore's inability to identify where the pressure would come from caused him to lock onto a shorter routed receiver. I know I lumped them all together but how good was IU's DL? Once again we had a game where DE Mikail Kamara starred even though he basically had no counting stats to show that he actually was unblockable. Kamara was getting held all day with no calls (again) and still managed to get 6 pressures per PFF, doubling anyone else on the team. Both of the tackles he made were considered "Stops" by PFF (tackles that constitute a "failure" for the offense). It didn't matter if he lined up across from Oregon RT Alex Harkey or LT Isaiah World, neither could consistently keep Kamara in front of them without holding. It didn't matter if he looped around to the inside, Oregon's OL couldn't recognize it fast enough and got away with some holds because of it. I keep saying this but the counting stats are coming for Kamara and I think with the ascension of DE Kellan Wyatt to being the perfect yin to Kamara's yang, we could see it next week against a rough MSU OL. Speaking of Wyatt, his ability to actually play the Stud position in this defense has been a revelation to me. I said on the podcast I was on on Sunday that Kamara has basically gone back to what he did last year which is being a pass rush specialist who is good against the run. Sure he wanted to show how versatile he could be to NFL teams and while he's typically the Stud when Stephen Daley is on the field, he's the SDE when Wyatt is out there. Having Wyatt, a former 3-4 LB at Maryland, who can put his hand on the ground, be a stand up end or drop into coverage and actually be competent makes IU's defense just so much more formidable. I thought fellow transfer DE Stephen Daley would be "the guy". He was terrific on Saturday as well even playing fullback on one of the Roman Hemby TD's, while forcing two pressures and tipping a ball that led to a massive pick late in the 4th quarter. For the record, Daley's been very good all season by PFF and eye test, but Wyatt allows Kamara to get back to what he does best and I think we're going to see the counting stats come for Kamara because of Wyatt and a lesser extent, Daley. Just how good were IU's interior guys? Mario Landino (4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 3 pressures), Tyrique Tucker (1 tackle, 1 pressure), Hosea Wheeler (3 tackles, 1 pressure) and Dominique Ratcliff (1 tackle, 1 pressure, 1 Stop). They were creating the lanes for the LB's to make plays with their penetrating rushes and beautifully run stunts. Not much more to say here as it was the type dominant performance we've become accustomed to under the coaching staff and players. I'll have a little more later on the secondary but I wanted to shout out the entire defense and the staff and give a few more interesting anecdotes: IU's defense gave up just 13 points to a team that came in averaging 47 in a place where they've lost just three times in a decade. They held Oregon to their lowest yardage total (267) in nearly half a decade. IU gave up 3 points, had 2 INT's and just 41 non garbage time yards total in the second half. What a job they did on Saturday. Roman Hemby I called out Hemby and the screen game in my preview for places I felt like IU could make some hay and move the ball down the field. Hemby was awesome in this one. The numbers might not tell the story of just how strong he ran but he ran hard. He finished with 19 carrier for 70 yards (3.7 ypc) and two TD's. That included 45 yards after contact and, while he only forced one missed tackle, he was constantly falling forward to get an extra couple of yards. He also caught 2 passes for 25 yards (12.5 ypc), including a huge 22 yards screen on 2nd and 14 in Oregon territory with 2:51 to go in the 3rd quarter that set up one of his 2 TD runs. These are the games you bring Roman Hemby in for and he didn't disappoint. The OL I thought the OL was great in the game and just watching and rewatching, I'm not really sure where some of the rough PFF grades come from other than being dinged for the false starts. I get that Hemby and Kaelon Black weren't running through gaping holes and Mendoza had some pressure on him from time to time, but I got a lot different vibes when watching the game and knowing this was supposed to be one of the premier front 4's in college football. In 72 snaps, IU allowed just 12 pressures and one sack. If you had told me that and then given me that Kahlil Benson graded out at a 39.9 overall offensive grade and was charged with 5 of the 12 pressures and no one on the OL would be above 60.1 (Pat Coogan) except Carter Smith (73.1), I would have told you you were crazy. I didn't think they were elite by any means but I didn't expect them to be, especially given the opponent and the environment. Oregon kept motioning to throw off the very well executed silent count and it caused 6 false starts and a delay of game. I think that's actually probably where the PFF grades come in but even the broadcasters were saying it was borderline illegal. Regardless, very good day (minus the penalties) for the OL overall. They kept their QB upright all but once and opened the holes they needed to when they needed to in the run game. Oh, and Carter Smith is a pro. His current grades among *all* FBS OL by PFF: #5 pass blocker #27 run blocker #9 overall graded OL And he's only allowed 3 pressures all season, so if he measures out at 6'5 at the combine, he's a 1st rounder. Period. That kid is one of the best OL in the country. (I know he's just a redshirt junior but I just don't see him coming back with the way he's graded and the tape he's put out there) Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Not much more to say about these two. Sarratt looks the part of a day one or two NFL prospect. He finished Saturday catching 8 of his 12 targets for 121 yards and a massive back shoulder TD that ended up being the game winner on 3rd and goal from the 8. If he wasn't being mugged in the first half where numerous PI's went uncalled, his day could have been even bigger. His route running is so crisp and his chemistry with Mendoza is continuing to improve each week. The sky is the limit. Cooper didn't end up with a TD (7 catches on 8 targets for 58 yards) but he did have the best catch of the day, a one hander that he snatched out of the air, then made two tacklers miss and got a 1st down when it seemed impossible given how he had to catch it. IU has two guys I think could be considered WR1 on most Power 4 teams and it's nearly impossible for teams to cover them one on one. Fernando Mendoza The numbers won't wow you: 20/31 for 215 yards (6.9 ypa) one TD and one INT to go along with 6 carriers for 31 yards (5.2 ypc) on the ground. He also made a brutal mistake throwing a duck off his back foot to EJ Williams (who had a step on his man but should have probably flattened out his route) where CB Brandon Finney made a terrific read, undercut it and took it to the house. Had you given me that synopsis of how Mendoza played, I would have thought IU lost by two scores. But they didn't and Mendoza was a big reason why. The way the refs were letting Oregon grab, hold, restrict, whatever verb you want to use, while not calling penalties had me concerned that it might do them in. But after an egregious PI that wasn't called on Elijah Sarratt, HC Curt Cignetti lost it on the refs and got a sideline warning. I feel like that kind of settled everyone down on offense and they got back to work. Back to Mendoza: he shook those missed calls off as well as he the pick six and said after the game that Aidan Fisher came over to him and said "I got your back, we believe in you". That was all Mendoza needed after Oregon tied it up on that pick six...It was the last time Oregon even threatened to score. Mendoza then led a 12 play, 75 yard drive that ate up 6:19 of clock in the 4th quarter to regain a 27-20 lead. He was under pressure on 38% of his drop backs and had zero (0) of what PFF counts as a Big Time Throw...I disagree. The throw he made to Sarratt to retake the lead from the near hash to the far sideline was an absolute dime. Regardless, this was a growth moment. You're just not going to just go into a place like Autzen with the athletes on that defense and just throw it around like you did against Indiana State. Last thing on Mendoza: OC Mike Shanahan called a brilliant game. He took what Oregon HC Dan Lanning and DC Tosh Lupoi and made it work. He called a couple brilliant designed QB draws with Mendoza that simply wouldn't have worked last season with Kurtis Rourke and his hurt knee and it propelled IU to first downs that might have ended drives a year prior without Mendoza's legs. That added element to Mendoza's game is what will make him a first round pick next April. Brendan Franke Not much to say here except he hit two 58 yard FG's just before the half on basically a mirror image situation before the half in the Iowa game, except there wasn't a roughing the passer penalty so instead of 46 yards, it was 58 yards. All of Franke's kicks were out of the end zone and he continues to be a weapon for IU. Quick side note on that before the half drive...Both Iowa and Oregon sat back in coverage just let IU run Roman Hemby on a draw for good yards and then run a back shoulder to Sarratt to go from the 25 into opposing territory setting up the FG's...like, what are you doing? D'Angelo Ponds and the Secondary It was very good to see Ponds back on the field. For some reason, OC Will Stein felt the need to go at him and he paid the price. Just 2 of the 6 balls that went Ponds way were caught and for just 14 yards. I don't get why you're still testing Ponds when you know that IU has a guy who is good, but not close to Ponds good, on the other side in Jamari Sharpe. I thought Sharpe was pretty good in this one. He shook of Cignetti chewing him out for what he thought was a fake injury and Oregon was 0 for 2 throwing his way with a perfect PBU and forced incompletion. Louis Moore once again had another pick. I said this on X, The Everything App, but big shout out to lawyer Brian Lauten who successfully beat the NCAA in their case against Moore remaining eligible. He's been one of the most important parts of the defense and this game was no different. The backend did have the miscommunication where Amare Ferrell was caught with his eyes in the backfield on a well designed fake stretch play and allowed that 44 yard TD pass. It's happened now a couple times and it hasn't come back to bite IU but it's something the safeties need to get straightened out if IU wants to have the season it can. What a win. I haven't been a fan for as long as some but this felt like vindication for those of us that have been beating the "if you build it" type argument with football for years and years. Well, IU built it and the crowds, the accolades, the free publicity, etc. is starting to bear fruit in a way I knew was possible but didn't know would be this swift and as upward as it's been. I'm so happy for Cignetti and the entire staff, support staff and team. Let's make more history, shall we?

The Reactionary Take: IUFB @ Oregon

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