Oregon coach Dan Lanning already has first-hand experience with playing No. 1-ranked Indiana. The Ducks had their shot in October but lost 30-20 in Eugene, their only loss of the year. They get a rematch on Friday in the College Football Playoff in Atlanta, and are looking for a different result.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There have been a lot of people with preconceived notions about Indiana's football team this year. That includes coaches, pollsters, media members and, certainly, opposing fans.
The Hoosiers have shown up 14 times this year, and there's been one common question that gets asked leading up to eadh game.
"Sure they're good, but they can't be THAT good, right?''
After the game, its been a different thought, of course. The Hoosiers have steamrolled through their schedule, winning all 14 games. They've won six times by 45 points or more, and they beat once-mighty Alabama 38-3 on Thursday in the Rose Bowl game, the most dominating postseason performance so far this year.
Can they be that good? Of course they can. Like many coaching staffs before them, Alabama liked their chances against the Hoosiers — but they got embarrassed instead. They joined a long line of beaten-down programs in 2025.
Oregon's Dan Lanning doesn't have that issue. He's next in line to have a shot at beating the Hoosiers when No. 1 seed Indiana takes on the No. 5-seeded Ducks on Friday in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, a College Football Playoff semifinal.
And he's not falling for the bait. He understands EXACTLY how good the Hoosiers are.
He knows, because he has first-hand experience.
Indiana flew out to Eugene in mid-October and whipped the then-No. 2 Ducks 30-20 at Autzen Stadium. In the last 25 Ducks home games dating back to 2022, that's the only one they've lost.
The only one.
So Lanning knows what to expect on Saturday, with several new wrinkles, of course. He's seen great football teams during his time as a college coach, and he knows Indiana is a huge challenge.
" You watch this team on film — and obviously we got to experience it first-hand too — but this is one of, if not the, best-coached teams in college football,'' Lanning said Saturday during the first press conference for Friday's game. "They play with unbelievable technique. They challenge you in every facet; in special teams, defensively, offensively.
"They've got great quarterback play, which I think is a secret to being in this position that they're in. And you watch this group, they play together. They've got great answers. They do what they do extremely well. And on defense, they challenge you in every way. They give you a lot of different looks. This is just a group that's obviously playing their best football now. You saw that in their most recent game (against Alabama).''
When Oregon first saw Indiana, they were averaging 46.6 point per game through five weeks. Against Indiana, the Ducks' offense only scored 13 points. The other seven came from the defense, on a fourth-quarter pick-six of Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza.
The Ducks averaged just 2.7 yards per carry running the ball, and quarterback Dante Moore threw for just 186 yards with two interceptions. That was his only regular season game with multiple picks.
He seemed confused often, and the Ducks could never get a consistent running game going.
"In a lot of ways, you'd call it an illusion defense,'' Lanning said of Indiana. "They show you one thing and they take something else away. They're really good at post-snap movement, which makes it difficult for the quarterback. Their defensive line plays with relentless effort, and they're tough to block up front.
"And then the technique continues to show up. They've got a guy (senior middle linebacker Aiden Fisher) basically playing quarterback there at linebacker that's able to get them lined up and execute. They've got a strong corner there in (D'Angelo) Ponds. They fly to the ball and they attack it in the air. They are probably the best zone break defense I've seen this year in college football. They do an unbelievable job there, and they get hats to the ball. Obviously, it all starts with stopping the run and they do a great job with that.''
This is the third year in a row that Oregon has had a rematch in the same season, and it has not gone well.
In 2023, they lost to Washington — who was quarterbacked by former Hoosier Michael Penix Jr. and coached by Kalen DeBoer — 36-33 during the regular season, and the two teams met against in the last Pac-12 title game. Washington won again, 34-31. Oregon finished 12-2 that year — they beat Liberty 45-6 in the Fiesta Bowl — with both losses to Washington.
Last year, the Ducks ran the table in the regular season, going 12-0 that included a win over Ohio State on Oct. 12 in Eugune. The Ducks got the No. 1 overall seed in the first 12-team College Football Playoff, but had to play No. 8 Ohio State again in the quarterfinal. Ohio State won 41-21 and went on to win the national title.
Lanning is hoping things are different this go-round with Indiana. He's got some data on his side. There have been five playoff rematches in the past two years , the team that lost the earlier matchup came out on top in four of them. Ole Miss is the only two-time winner, beating Tulane twice this year.
Even Indiana coach Curt Cignetti acknowledges the earlier loser has something of a psychological edge going into the second game.
"Edge to Oregon there. We were fortunate to win the game out in Eugene,'' Cignetti said. "It's hard to beat a great team twice. It's very difficult, but it ought to be a great game. We're looking forward to the challenge.''
Lanning said that Moore is a much better player now than he was three months ago. Moore played nine games for UCLA as a true freshman, but a year ago after transferring to Oregon, he only played in mop-up duty behind Dillon Gabriel. He only threw eight passes all season.
This is his first full year as a starter for Lanning and Ducks, and Moore — a 6-foot-3 redshirt sophomore from Detroit, Mich. — had a big year. He's 272-for-373 passing — that's 72.9 percent, third-best in the country. (Indiana's Fernando Mendoza is fourth at 72.3).
Lanning is impressed with how Moore has improved over the course of the season. He's seen a lot now through 14 starts.
"You know, it's experience. You've got to remember that when we played (Indiana) earlier in the season, Dante hadn't played a ton of games,'' Lanning said. "And as you play an entire season, you get exposed to a lot of different looks, and you learn from those moments. Dante has certainly learned from a lot of those moments what he's seen.
"He's been obviously a great player for us and done an unbelievable job, but he's not the same player as he was earlier this year. What they do on defense is really difficult. You have to be willing to take what they give you at times. They do a great job of protecting against shots, but I think Dante's been a really good decision-maker throughout the year, and that'll be something that's really important in this game.''
The game is Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The game can be seen on ESPN.