Indiana, Oregon meet for spot in National Championship

ATLANTA – Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti shared the same stage Thursday morning, both glancing at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Trophy that sat between them.

Lanning is seeking revenge and the last laugh. Cignetti aims to continue chasing history. However, both coaches view this matchup as a game of adjustments and small tweaks.

Earlier this season, Cignetti and his Hoosiers found success when they traveled to Eugene and defeated the Ducks 30-20, handing Oregon its only loss of the season.

No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon will meet again tonight in the College Football Playoff Semifinal. The winner will face No. 10 Miami in the National Championship Game at the Orange Bowl.

Repetition is key

“There’s been 14 games, and teams improve,” Cignetti said. “And why do they improve? Because of repetition. Repetition is the mother of learning. And then there’s some schematic tweaks, but basically when you’re successful and through repetition guys are in the right place, it becomes secondhand.”

For Indiana, having the Heisman Trophy winner on its side is a huge help. Fernando Mendoza has led the Hoosiers to their first undefeated season since 1945. Indiana has not had an undefeated team win a national championship since legendary coach Bob Knight’s 1976 men’s basketball team, who finished 32-0.

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Mendoza was a threat with his arm and his legs the last time he faced Oregon. The Cuban American quarterback completed 20-of-31 passing attempts for 215 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also rushed for 31 yards.

“I think one of the things that really sticks out with Mendoza is he takes the ball where it’s supposed to go,” Lanning said of Mendoza. “Everybody says that, and you realize in one where he’s taking the throw, okay, in two where he’s taking the throw, in zone, where does he take the throw. 

“And doesn’t get enough credit for his feet, is an unbelievable scrambler, was able to do that against us last time. Does a great job of taking off when it’s there, when his first read is not there and he has great weapons to throw to.”

Oregon crushed Texas Tech

Defense was the key reason Oregon shut out Big 12 champion Texas Tech 23-0 in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. They, had two interceptions and a fumble recovery. The Ducks will need to maintain that stellar defense against a strong Indiana offense, which ranks third in the country with 41.6 points per game.

Since losing to Indiana, the Ducks have won eight games in a row.

“I think that game, we understood what it felt like to get punched,” Ducks defensive back Jadon Canady said. “Just to understand that feeling and just to know from that point on, ‘All right, guys, we’ve got to lock in.’ … I think that game was just used as that.”