Indiana football headed to national championship after topping Oregon
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ATLANTA — Indiana football is one win away from the greatest rags-to-riches story in college football history.
The No. 1 Hoosiers (15-0) beat Oregon 56-22 on Friday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in front of a raucous crowd of IU fans who flooded into Atlanta this weekend to watch their team move one step closer to history.
Indiana has undergone a complete transformation during coach Curt Cignetti’s tenure. He’s turned the one-time losingest team in the sport into the envy of every fan base and athletic department in the country.
That history meant little to Cignetti who told fans upon his arrival in Bloomington that there would be no “self-imposed limitations” on a program that once viewed simply making a bowl game as a championship-level feat.
The Hoosiers have gone 26-2 during Cignetti’s tenure (tied for the most wins in the FBS during that stretch), won a Big Ten title and led IU to back-to-back appearances in the CFP.
On Friday, Indiana won a rematch over the No. 5 Ducks (13-2) with as dominant of a performance as the team has put together in a season full of them. The Hoosiers forced three turnovers in the first half while Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza casually tossed three touchdowns to three different targets.
The game was over by the time the teams walked into halftime.
Indiana put the final touches on the blowout win by blocking a punt early in the fourth quarter at Oregon’s 7-yard line and scored three players later on Mendoza’s fifth touchdown throw of the night.
The Hoosiers clinched a spot in the CFP finals for a matchup against No. 10 Miami that will be played at Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the Hurricanes.
Indiana football’s turnover train runs over Oregon in the CFP semifinals
Indiana jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the opening play when D’Angelo Ponds scored on a pick-six. He read the eyes of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and jumped the route on a pass intended for receiver Malik Benson at IU’s own 25-yard line.
Ponds had an easy jog into the end zone where he soaked in a standing ovation from the stunned crowd.
Indiana ended up scoring 21 points off three Oregon turnovers in the first half to go into the break with a 35-7 lead. It was only the fourth time this season the Ducks turned the ball over multiple times in the same game.
They ended up with 15 turnovers on the season and IU forced five of them between the two matchups between the teams.
Oregon’s other two turnovers came on fumbles inside their own 30-yard line. Moore lost the ball at his own 3-yard line when his own running back knocked his arm as he was trying to make a throw and Daniel Ndukwe forced the other one on a strip sack.
Ndukwe, who had two sacks in the first half, was only in the lineup after IU suffered multiple season-ending injuries at defensive end. He met the standard that Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley set at the position with a career-best performance in the CFP semifinals
The Peach Bowl was just the sixth game in his career. He played double-digit snaps.
Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza, receiving corps show off in Peach Bowl
Mendoza kept the offense in rhythm throughout the game while highlighting the chemistry he’s developed with IU’s talented receiving corps.
While he spread the ball around — he completed passes to seven different targets — the Hoosiers starting receivers each got a moment in the spotlight.
Mendoza’s first big completion was a 23-yard gain to Elijah Sarratt right in front of IU’s sideline. Oregon cornerback Ify Obidegwu blanketed Sarratt on the play and there was a ton of contact before the ball reached its target, but he still came down with it.
Sarratt once again faced a lot of man coverage against the Ducks — as he did in the first matchup between the teams — and made the most of it. He ended up leading the team with seven catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Mendoza also threw touchdowns to Omar Cooper Jr., Charlie Becker and E.J. Williams Jr. The throw to Becker for a 36-yard score was the type of highlight-reel catch Indiana fans have come to expect from the plucky sophomore.
Becker made the leaping grab while falling backward in the end zone.
Mendoza finished the game 17-of-20 passing for 177 yards and the five scores. Through two CFP games, he has more touchdown passes (seven) than incompletions (five).
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: Indiana football dominates Oregon to book trip to CFP final vs Miami
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