Numbers That Matter: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 5 Oregon

Photo Credit: Indiana University Athletics Numbers drive so much in today’s world and the sports world is no different. Now more than ever teams are hiring and building analytics teams to get every edge possible over their opponents. Over the course of the season, we’ll look into many of those numbers ahead of the Indiana Hoosiers’ matchups each week, so be on the lookout for that! We'll be looking at a lot of numbers from Pro Football Focus, which I'll abbreviate here as PFF. Without further ado, let’s get into it: 48.3 ...Represents Indiana's 2nd worst team wide pass blocking grade of the season, per PFF. It occurred in week 7 against Oregon. The worst grade occurred in week 11 at Penn State, which shows a slight trend. Teams with elite, NFL caliber pass rushers can throw wrenches into this Indiana offense. That may seem intuitive, but it's how the data has played out thus far this season. In fact, the four worst pass blocking grades of the season were, in order, at Penn State (46.7), at Oregon (48.3), at Iowa (54.0), and in the Big Ten Championship vs. Ohio State (64.2). All four of these teams have NFL caliber pass rushers and all four gave the Hoosiers issues as these were the closest four games of the season (really, the only close games of the season). Indiana won, of course, but it shows a small crack. For Indiana to win the rematch against Oregon, they need to win this battle in the trenches. Photo Credit: Pro Football Focus -5% ...Represents the decline in PFF pass blocking grade performances when comparing weeks 4 through 10 (6 games, starting with Illinois) with weeks 11 through the Rose Bowl (5 games, starting with Penn State). Certainly, there have been injuries to the offensive line and there is likely significant wear and tear from the number of games the Hoosiers have played, but a decline in performance is not what you want to see entering the College Football Semi-Final. Despite this, however, the Indiana offensive line put up their best performance in five weeks against the Crimson Tide with a grade of 79.4. There may have been a slight dip, but the Hoosiers seem to be righting the ship at the right time. Personally, I will never count out Coach Bob Bostad and this offensive line unit. #2 vs. #39 ...Represents, respectively, Indiana and Oregon's success rate rankings on 3rd down, per gameonpaper.com. Indiana converts 56.5% of their 3rd down attempts while Oregon converts at a 47.7% rate. Similar to what we saw previewing the Rose Bowl, this metric could prove to be a major difference maker in determining the outcome of the Peach Bowl. The Hoosiers have set themselves up for success with 5.41 yards to go on average on 3rd down, which is the best in the nation. If Indiana wants to win this matchup again, they will need to continue to be efficient and continue to convert on 3rd down at a high rate. 1st ...Represents where Fernando Mendoza's PFF passing grade in the Rose Bowl ranks compared to all of Mendoza's other performances throughout the 2025 season. Put simply, Fernando had his best passing game of the season last week - on college football's biggest stage no less. He finished with a PFF passing grade of 92.9 against the Crimson Tide. His second best performance on the season? The Big Ten Championship against Ohio State with a PFF passing grade of 91.9. Mendoza is getting hot at the right time, which should put immense fear into the eyes of the upcoming Oregon Ducks. #1 vs. #3 ...Represents where Indiana and Oregon grade out, respectively, when looking at overall offensive grades on PFF. The team in the #2 slot? The Ohio State Buckeyes. Props to the Big Ten here for claiming the entire top three. That aside, if you want to see elite offensive play, this is the game for you. Per PFF, the Ducks rank 2nd in the nation in overall passing grade, overall pass blocking grade, and overall rushing grade. While the Hoosiers rank highly in these metrics as well, this Oregon team is much better than the Alabama team that was faced last week. Indiana's defense will need to bring their A-game once again to win this game. Photo Credit: Pro Football Focus Indiana Game Information Indiana kicks off against Oregon on Friday, January 9 at 7:30 PM EST! The game will be shown on ESPN for those watching at home. Stay locked in with Hoosier Huddle for all things Indiana football and Indiana sports – all season long. Other IU Numbers That Matter Articles –#20 Indiana vs. Old Dominion –#23 Indiana vs. Kennesaw State –#22 Indiana vs. Indiana State –#19 Indiana vs. #9 Illinois –#11 Indiana vs. Iowa –#7 Indiana vs. #3 Oregon –#3 Indiana vs. Michigan State –#2 Indiana vs. UCLA –#2 Indiana vs. Maryland –#2 Indiana vs. Penn State –#2 Indiana vs. Wisconsin –#2 Indiana vs. Purdue –#2 Indiana vs. #1 Ohio State –#1 Indiana vs. #9 Alabama

Numbers That Matter: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 5 Oregon

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