No. 7 Indiana football went into Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday and emerged with a program-defining win over No. 3 Oregon.
Let’s boogie:
Bryant Haines’ defense
If any one assistant deserves their flowers for Indiana’s
win, it’s defensive coordinator Bryant Haines.
You know what he’s about by now. The Hoosiers are going to limit the run on early downs to generate third and longs, letting their defensive front create pressure to force fourth down or a turnover. That’s been Indiana’s modus operandi on defense under Haines’ watch, and Saturday provided some more of the same.
It’s all over the box score. Oregon managed just 81 yards on the ground in total and 2.7 per carry. That, of course, factors in sacks and whatnot, but it probably means something that the Hoosiers were able to get to Ducks quarterback Dante Moore six (!!) times. Any gain Oregon’s strong backfield was able to generate either didn’t lead to points or was negated because Indiana got pressure on Moore.
As for Moore? He completed just 62% of his passes in this game and threw a pair of picks.
Speaking of,
The quarterback duel
More than a game between top-10 teams, this was billed as a matchup featuring two of the top passers in the 2026 NFL Draft class. Fernando Mendoza and Moore both proved themselves numerous times before this game and had nearly identical stats going into it.
Neither had a particularly amazing game. Mendoza completed 65% of his passes with one touchdown and just as many interceptions while Moore’s stats can be found above. Not exactly a high-flying quarterback duel, but Mendoza did enough at the end of the day while Moore threw the pick that all but ended the game altogether.
Moore will have better days than this, probably quite a few of them, but he and Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein were simply flummoxed by Haines and the Hoosiers’ defensive front, not even to mention the work done by Indiana’s linebackers and secondary.
Elijah Sarratt’s brilliance
Elijah Sarratt. Have a day.
As open as a Waffle House, Sarratt simply outplayed whoever Oregon tried to throw at him in the back end to the point of drawing interference (whether it was flagged or not.). The Ducks’ young secondary was no match for his ability to muscle his way to extra yards and get open through footwork.
He finished with 121 yards and the go-ahead touchdown on eight receptions.
