How do IU football's starters stack up vs Oregon? What the star rankings say
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BLOOMINGTON — Oregon's starting lineup doesn't quite have the star power of Indiana football's most recent opponents, Ohio State and Alabama, but the majority of coach Dan Lanning's homegrown recruits who will start in the Peach Bowl are top-100 players.
The No. 5 Ducks (13-1) will start a pair of 5-star recruits in the Peach Bowl against the No. 1 Hoosiers (14-0) and eight former top-100 prospects.
Lanning signed five of those top-100 recruits straight out of high school, including receiver Dakorien Moore, the No. 4 overall-ranked recruit in the 2025 signing class. The number of five-stars in Oregon's starting lineup is likely to increase in the coming years, with the team having seven 5-star prospects over the last two recruiting cycles, according to 247 Sports composite rankings.
Indiana has never signed a 5-star recruit out of high school and only has one former top-100 player (E.J. Williams) in its starting lineup.
| Indiana | Oregon | Ohio State | Alabama | |
| 5-stars | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 4-stars | 2 | 11 | 16 | 9 |
| Top 100 recruits | 1 | 8 | 10 | 14 |
| 2-stars or below | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
This will be IU's third straight matchup against a former 5-star quarterback, with each of them — Oregon's Dante Moore (2023), Alabama's Ty Simpson (2022), and Ohio State's Julian Sayin (2024) — coming from different signing classes.
Moore threw for 186 yards (61.85) with a touchdown and two interceptions in a 30-20 loss to the Hoosiers earlier this season. He was sacked a season-high six times and pressured on 20 of his 42 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
Here's a position-by-position breakdown of the recruiting rankings for this year's Peach Bowl participants:
Indiana football's quarterbacks vs. Oregon
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Oregon (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Quarterback | Fernando Mendoza (2022) | 2-stars (No. 2,149) | Dante Moore (2023) | 5-stars (No. 4) |
Indiana football's skill positions vs. Oregon
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Oregon (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Wide receiver | Elijah Sarratt (2022) | 0-stars (N/A) | Dakorien Moore (2025) | 5-stars (No. 4) |
| Wide receiver | Omar Cooper Jr. (2022) | 4-stars (No. 299) | Gary Bryant Jr. (2020) | 4-stars (No. 46) |
| Wide receiver | E.J. Williams Jr. (2020) | 4-stars (No. 69) | N/A | N/A |
| Running back | Roman Hemby (2021) | 3-stars (No. 1,767) | Noah Whittington (2020) | 3-stars (No. 2,355) |
| Tight end | Riley Nowakowski (2020) | 0-stars (N/A) | Kenyon Sadiq (2023) | 4-stars (No. 122) |
| Tight end | N/A | N/A | Jamari Johnson (2023) | 4-stars (No. 328) |
Indiana football's offensive line vs Oregon
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Oregon (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Left tackle | Carter Smith (2022) | 3-stars (No. 730) | Isaiah World (2021) | 3-stars (No. 1,682) |
| Left guard | Drew Evans (2022) | 0-stars (N/A) | Emmanuel Pregnon (2020) | N/A |
| Center | Pat Coogan (2021) | 3-stars (No. 613) | Iapani Laloulu (2023) | 4-stars (No. 347) |
| Right guard | Bray Lynch (2022) | 3-stars (No. 1,033) | Dave Iuli (2022) | 4-stars (No. 191) |
| Right tackle | Kahlil Benson (2020) | 3-stars (No. 714) | Alex Harkey (2020) | N/A |
Indiana football's defensive line vs. Oregon
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Oregon (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Defensive tackle | Mario Landino (2024) | 3-stars (No. 2,398) | Bear Alexander (2022) | 4-stars (No. 50) |
| Defensive tackle | Tyrique Tucker (2022) | 0-stars (N/A) | A'Mauri Washington | 4-stars (No. 252) |
| Defensive end | Mikail Kamara (2020) | 0-stars (N/A) | Matayo Uiagalelei (2023) | 4-stars (No. 44) |
| Defensive end | Stephen Daley (2022) | 3-stars (No. 1,987) | N/A | N/A |
Indiana football's linebackers vs. Oregon
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Oregon (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Linebacker | Aiden Fisher (2022) | 0-stars (N/A) | Bryce Boettcher (2020) | 3-stars (2,819) |
| Linebacker | Rolijah Hardy (2023) | 0-stars (N/A) | Jerry Mixon (2023) | 3-stars (No. 717) |
| Linebacker | N/A | N/A | Teitum Tuioti (2023) | 3-stars (No. 506) |
Indiana football's secondary vs. Oregon
| Position | Indiana (Year) | Rating (National rank) | Oregon (Year) | Rating (National rank) |
| Cornerback | D'Angelo Ponds (2023) | 3-stars (No. 1,966) | Brandon Finney Jr. (2025) | 4-stars (No. 40) |
| Cornerback | Jamari Sharpe (2022) | 3-stars (No. 826) | Dillon Thieneman (2023) | 3-stars (No. 988) |
| Safety | Louis Moore (2020) | 0-stars (N/A) | Aaron Flowers (2024) | 4-stars (No. 60) |
| Safety | Amare Ferrell (2022) | 3-stars (No. 578) | Ify Obidegwu (2024) | 4-stars (No. 52) |
| Rover | Devan Boykin (2020) | 3-stars (No. 833) | Jadon Canady (2021) | 3-stars (No. 1,325) |
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: How Indiana's starters compare to Oregon in past recruiting rankings
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