It’s an all-Big Ten Peach Bowl: Opponents and outsiders on what Indiana and Oregon do best
The Athletic has live coverage of Oregon vs. Indiana in the 2025 College Football Playoff semifinals.
The all-Big Ten College Football Playoff semifinal in the heart of SEC country will feature a style of play that may contradict the outside perception of each team’s offense.
Top-ranked Indiana (14-0) and No. 5 seed Oregon (13-1) are known for their offensive skill position talent and dazzling play design. Each team ranks in the top 10 in scoring offense and yards per play. Additionally, both are in the top 15 in total offense and yards per passing attempt. However, if you ask common opponents and impartial observers, it’s their physicality that stands out more than their scheme.
“If you doubt Oregon’s physicality, they’re going to snip you in the butt,” Iowa safety Xavier Nwankpa said. “That’s a really good team. They have finesse, but that’s a physical team that’ll go out there and try and impose their will, too. Guys got to respect that out there.”
The Hoosiers and Ducks face off for the second time Friday, with the winner of the Peach Bowl heading to the CFP national championship on Jan. 19 in Miami. Indiana won the first meeting 30-20 on Oct. 11 in Eugene. The Ducks and Hoosiers played three common opponents, each posting close wins against Iowa and Penn State, with more decisive victories over Wisconsin.
Iowa’s defensive players may provide the most even assessment of the Hoosiers and Ducks based on their matchups this season; Penn State played Oregon before head coach James Franklin’s firing and quarterback Drew Allar’s season-ending injury, and both Indiana and Oregon saw the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. In late September, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt with 1:28 left to beat Iowa 20-15. Then on Nov. 8, Oregon’s Atticus Sappington kicked a 39-yard field goal with three seconds left to pull out an 18-16 win. No. 23 Iowa finished 9-4 with a win in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
Both Oregon and Indiana were finalists for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s top offensive line. Oregon center Iapani Laloulu and guard Emmanuel Pregnon each claimed first-team All-American honors. Indiana left tackle Carter Smith was a consensus first-team All-American, and center Pat Coogan was named the Rose Bowl’s offensive MVP. Both teams average more than 205 rushing yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry.
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For Indiana, every piece of its offense works in tandem to create success, according to Iowa defensive tackle Aaron Graves.
“(The Hoosiers) have a lot of really good skill players and that helps out the O-line,” Graves said. “I’m not saying like the skill players make them look better than they are or anything like that, but when you combine a really good offensive line with great skill talent — obviously Indiana has the Heisman winner and great receiving talent, and their running back is good, too — it really makes the O-line go.”
Graves praised the communication level of the Ducks’ offensive linemen, especially in a tough road environment like Kinnick Stadium.
Of the two teams up front, Oregon might be a little more physical, while Indiana might be a tad more consistent. College Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Aaron Taylor, who founded the Joe Moore Award, touted Indiana’s consistency and teamwork as critical elements in its success, saying last month the Hoosiers were “relentless in their approach and their physicality.”
The Oregon linemen distinguish themselves with their hustle, providing persistent effort throughout a play. Taylor highlighted how a short completion against Washington could be used as a future clinic video. He took a screenshot of the 31-yard gain and put checkmarks by each of the offensive linemen, all of whom were in the picture, making downfield blocks. Taylor sent the photo to offensive line coach A’Lique Terry along with a two-word note: “Thank you.”
“They prided themselves in getting downfield and getting knockdowns,” Taylor said. “That doesn’t happen naturally. That has to be coached and it has to be reinforced. It has to be celebrated when it happens, and they do it team-wide. Toughness, effort, finishing, technique and pass pro, those were the things that really stood out.”
Nwankpa thought Indiana’s receivers made the Hoosiers’ offense go. Iowa’s defensive principle against Indiana was to allow short passes but make open-field tackles. It worked to near perfection until Sarratt’s game-winning touchdown.
Facing third-and-10 at the Iowa 49, Mendoza saw a zero blitz with Sarratt running a slant from left to right. In single coverage without a safety, Sarratt shaved his route depth to create distance between himself and cornerback Deshaun Lee. When the ball arrived, Sarratt had enough space to make a move, shake off Lee and race to the end zone.
“Gameplan-wise, we just tried to limit the explosives and tried to make them make plays in space,” Nwankpa said. “They can get the ball in space, they can take shots down the field, but those players probably make the scheme a little bit easier. The players make it a real explosive offense, and in the Big Ten championship, you could see that against a really good Ohio State defense.”
Both quarterbacks have elite arm strength and accuracy, which adds to the challenge of defending those receivers, Nwankpa said. Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding player, has thrown for 3,172 yards, 36 touchdowns and completed 72.3 percent of his passes. One of his throws against Iowa caught everyone’s attention, especially future opponents.
“He was on the left hash, and he chucked one probably 30 yards down the field from the left hash to the field, hole shot,” said Alabama safety Bray Hubbard, days before the Crimson Tide lost 38-3 in Indiana in the Rose Bowl. “That was probably one of the most impressive throws I’ve seen, because for a quarterback, it’s probably one of the hardest throws to make. And he threw it into a two-high coverage. So that was impressive.”
After backing up Big Ten offensive player of the year Dillon Gabriel last year, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore has developed into an elite performer. A former five-star prospect, Moore has thrown for 3,280 yards and 28 touchdowns and completed 72.9 percent of his passes.
Perhaps Moore’s most important throw of the season came at Iowa with 23 seconds left at his 49-yard line. Moore connected with Malik Benson running a fade route down the sideline, placing the ball just beyond the reach of Iowa cornerback T.J. Hall for a 24-yard game to set up the game-winning kick.
“We held them kind of in check for a pretty long time, and then their quarterback’s gonna go make plays like that last drive to go to get the field goal,” Nwankpa said. “He throws one of the best balls you can throw in there. There’s not really much you can do as a DB when it’s a perfect throw, perfect catch. That’s a legit guy. Their running backs were good. And when they get the ball in space, they can make a guy miss and run through a guy.”
The first time Indiana and Oregon faced off, both offenses posted their lowest yards per play marks of the regular season by far (4.8 for the Hoosiers, 4.2 for the Ducks). But with the possible top two NFL Draft picks in Mendoza and Moore, two of the nation’s top offensive lines and elite skill position players, each team is capable of taking control and earning a national championship game berth in the process.
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