When Indiana faced Oregon during the regular season, it was Aiden Fisher who was the difference-maker for the Hoosiers. The senior linebacker flew around the field, totaling a season-high 13 tackles (4 solo) and 1.5 sacks against the Ducks, helping propel Indiana to a 30-20 win. The Hoosiers will need another big game from Fisher if they hope to beat Oregon again and advance to the National Championship game.
Speaking with the media on Tuesday, Fisher discussed his approach towards facing Oregon again in the College Football Playoff. “To me, this is a whole new team. I think both sides are a whole new team. They’ve improved drastically. Their O-line, especially, and their quarterback are playing at an extremely high level. They’ve had new guys merge at receiver spots, and everybody is playing at a high level.” he said.
Expanding upon Oregon’s growth on the offensive side of the ball, Fisher said, “Oregon is an explosive offense, one that’ll hurt you quick if you’re not on your Ps and Qs. Obviously, starts with a quarterback, who is one of the best in the country. Great player, smart, makes his reads quick, gets the ball out quick. He does a great job in every facet of being a quarterback in the system. O-line, big, strong. They’re physical. They move well, especially in space. Their O-line is great. Obviously, the tight ends and receivers, the running backs, too, they have guys that are going to play on Sundays in every spot.
While Fisher admits that this game will be a challenge for the Hoosiers, he is confident that defensive coordinator Bryant Haines will have them prepared for the Peach Bowl matchup. “We’ve seen Oregon once, but they’ve improved drastically. Their O-line is playing at a high level, quarterback, receivers, tight ends, running backs. Everybody is playing really well right now. So we definitely have a challenge on our hands. But like you said, when you have Coach Haines, who’s manipulating things so much, we’re changing a defense week in and week out, it’s a lot of mental stuff early in the week, but by the end of the week we all feel calm and confident with it.” Fisher explained.
Fisher was also quick to dispel the notion that Oregon has more motivation going into the Peach Bowl as they look to avenge their regular-season loss.“We have the same motivation as they do. 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 didn’t play a clean game. 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.”
Ultimately, Fisher is confident in the Hoosiers’ preparation, saying, “I think if we’re on high alert for all of these things, we’ll be better prepared and better going into it on Friday.”
Aiden Fisher had one of his best games of the season against Oregon during the regular season. In order to win the Peach Bowl, the Hoosiers are going to need him to have another career game.