After holding one of the more one-dimensional offenses left in the playoff field to just three points in the Rose Bowl, Curt Cignetti’s Indiana Hoosiers will be faced with a much tougher task in the Peach
Bowl against Oregon, a team that boasts one of the top rushing attacks in the country.
Entering the College Football Playoff Semifinal, Oregon is one of 17 schools nationally and three in the Big Ten to average more than 200 rushing yards per contest. Only Michigan and Indiana finished ahead of them within the conference.
This, of course, is not news to Bryant Haines and company, who saw much of the same rushing attack when the two teams first met in Eugene on October 11. Haines’ group held the Ducks to 81 yards on 30 carries, a slightly skewed stat as it counts the -27 yards Dante Moore lost on 6 sacks that day.
Still, there are some changes to the Oregon backfield, with the news breaking Tuesday that Jordon Davison will miss the remainder of the season due to a broken collarbone. Davison was second on the team with 667 yards and led all Ducks with 15 touchdowns.
Davison’s loss came after Jayden Limar, who finished the year with 262 yards and three touchdowns, announced he would be entering the transfer portal. While the cabinet is far from empty, Oregon is now down two of their top four rushers on the season in terms of yards from scrimmage.
Davison and Limar both saw action the first time Indiana played Oregon, as Davison led the team with 59 yards on eight carries. Limar gained 17 yards on three tries that game.
Expect Noah Whittington – who already led the team in rushing attempts with 129 – and Dierre Hill Jr. (70 carries) to see an increased workload. Of the Oregon backs who saw 50 or more carries in 2025, these two led the team in yards per carry, with 6.4 and 8.1, respectively.
Even with just those two, Indiana’s defense will have its hands full, but there’s also quarterback Dante Moore to account for. He’s only rushed for two touchdowns on the season, though he does have 68 attempts and nearly 200 yards, not adjusted for sack yards lost.
Further down the depth chart is Jay Harris, a junior with just 26 carries on the season, but potentially next in line for some reps if Dan Lanning wants options other than Whittington and Hill Jr and he’s alright with suiting up given he too has entered the portal.
Six Ducks had designed run plays called for them the first time Indiana played them, so Lanning may employ Harris just to change offensive looks if the other backs struggle to get it going like they did in October. Harris had one carry for one yard in that meeting, as did wide receiver Dakorien Moore.
Injuries and portal entries aside, the running game is central to Oregon’s offensive identity. The depth chart might look different than it did in October, but Lanning is going to try to establish the run in a way that Alabama failed to last week in the Rose Bowl.
