Third-ranked Oregon plays its second top-10 team in as many games when the Ducks host No. 7 Indiana on Saturday in another high-profile Big Ten football matchup at Eugene, Ore.
The Ducks (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) were flying high after a 30-24 double-overtime upset of then-No. 3 Penn State on the road on Sept. 27. Now they will be rested coming off a midseason bye week and playing at home.
Oregon is looking for its 36th win in program history over a top-10 team. The Ducks hold the nation’s longest active regular-season winning streak at 23 games and the nation’s longest home victory streak at 18.
The Hoosiers and Ducks have not played each other since 2004, when Indiana edged Oregon 30-24 in Eugene.
This year, the Ducks have scored points on all 23 trips into the red zone on offense, the second most of any team in the nation to have scored on 100 percent of drives inside the 20.
On defense, Oregon is third in the nation at 123.4 yards passing per game allowed, and the Ducks have given up only two passing touchdowns in five games. Their pass defense won the game at Penn State, as an interception ended the second OT.
“These guys have worked really, really hard,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said of his defensive backs. “We pitch a lot at them every single week about understanding how we’re going to play certain coverages or adapt those changes.”
Indiana (5-0, 2-0) survived for a 20-15 win at Iowa on Sept. 27, but the Hoosiers racked up 192 points in the three games prior to playing the Hawkeyes.
Indiana is off to a 5-0 start in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.
The play of Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza at quarterback helps make the Saturday game a showcase of two of the nation’s top signal-callers, as he will go up against Oregon’s Dante Moore. Mendoza has completed 89 of 122 pass attempts for 1,208 yards and 16 touchdowns with only one interception this season.
“I just want Fernando, like the rest of the guys on the team, to relax and play their game. We’re just going to go out there and play our game and play it well,” Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti said. “You prepare for them all the same. Otherwise you’d be doing a disservice to your team if you’re all-in one game and not all-in on another.”
The Hoosiers’ defense is allowing just 9.6 points per game, the third-best average in the nation. Indiana already has a top-20 win, a 63-10 romp over then-No. 9 Illinois at home on Sept. 20.
Indiana also runs the ball well, with a by-committee approach at running back having produced 1,339 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
–Field Level Media
