Football
ATLANTA – No. 5 Oregon’s College Football Playoff run collapsed with a devastating semifinal defeat against No. 1 Indiana, falling 56-22 in the Peach Bowl Friday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Mistakes and injuries plagued the Ducks (13-2) in what became their worst performance of the season, with the Hoosiers (15-0) converting three Oregon turnovers into 21 points to build a commanding 35-7 lead by halftime. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza-led offense walked all over UO, racking up the most points that Oregon has given up in its postseason history.
The Ducks’ season ends as Indiana moves on to the CFP Championship game to face No. 10 Miami (13-2) on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Catch up on how the game unfolded below.
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FINAL: Indiana 56, Oregon 22
Fourth quarter: Indiana 56, Oregon 22
Indiana: Hoosiers end it with a knee to advance to the national championship game.
Oregon TD, trail 56-22: Ducks reach their own 49-yard line with a first down from Jay Harris. A swing pass to Dierre Hill Jr. moves the ball to the opposing 39.
After losing some ground, Dante Moore tosses a short pass to Jamari Johnson, who takes it 39 yards to the 2-yard line. Indiana called for PI on second down before the Ducks botch the next snap.
Moore composes himself to hit Roger Saleapaga one yard away for a touchdown with 22 seconds left on the clock. Sappington’s extra point is good.
Indiana TD, leading 56-15: Indiana drove 65 yards in five plays to score on a 23-yard run from Kaelon Black.
Oregon: The Ducks moved the ball to the Indiana 31, where a fourth-down attempt failed, ending the drive.
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Indiana TD, lead 49-15: Mendoza to Sarratt. Touchdown. Sarratt worked his way open over the middle from the right side of the formation. Mendoza had all day and put the ball on target, as he has all night.
Oregon: Ducks go 3-and-out. Punt is blocked by Ndukwe. Indiana takes over at the Oregon 7-yard line with 13:01 remaining in the game.
Indiana: Hoosiers take over at their 32 after making the fourth-down stop. They go 3-and-out.
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Third quarter: Indiana 42, Oregon 15
Oregon: On third-and-11 from Oregon’s 4-yard line, Moore went deep down the left sideline to wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan Jr., who hauled in the pass for a gain of 43 yards to the Oregon 47.
However, a few plays later, the Ducks failed to convert on a fourth-and-1 from their 31. Harris received a quick pitch to the left and was tackled for a loss of one yard.
Indiana: The Hoosiers gained 21 yards on six plays before punting. The punt landed around the 5-yard line and bounced perfectly for Indiana to down it right there.
Oregon TD, trail 42-15: On first down from its 25, Dierre Hill Jr. got loose along the right side for a 71-yard run to the Indiana 4-yard line.
Two plays later, Jay Harris scored on a 2-yard touchdown run.
Moore connected with tight end Jamari Johnson for the two-point conversion.
Indiana TD, lead 42-7: The Hoosiers drove 75 yards in 11 plays to score on a 13-yard pass from Fernando Mendoza to E.J. Williams.
Williams, from the left slot, ran a quick double move, dipping out, then getting vertical to get open past Aaron Flowers.
Mendoza’s pass was on target for the easy score.
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HALFTIME: Indiana 35, Oregon 7
Oregon: The Ducks tried to mount a scoring drive but only got close enough to attempt a 56-yard field goal. Atticus Sappington’s attempt fell short as time expired.
Indiana TD, lead 35-7, 0:59 seconds to go: Mendoza threw a quick pass to Sarratt for a touchdown.
The drive covered 21 yards in six plays.
Oregon: On second down, Moore was sacked for an eight-yard loss and fumbled. Indiana recovered at the Ducks’ 21.
Indiana TD, 28-7, 8:17 on the clock: Mendoza completed another back shoulder pass to Sarratt that also included a pass interference call on Theran Johnson. The Hoosiers took the latter.
Two plays later, Mendoza went down the right sideline for a TD to 6-foot-4 wide receiver Charlie Becker.
Brandon Finney Jr., also 6-4, was in bump-and-run man coverage on Becker, who gave a simple move and then ran right by Finney. Mendoza placed the ball where Becker could leap and make a nice catch over Finney for the 36-yard TD.
It looked like the safety on that side bit on the play-action and thus was not in position to help Finney.
Oregon: The drive halted when Dante Moore was sacked on back-to-back plays.
Dominique Ratcliff got to Moore on second down for a loss of nine. On third down, Daniel Ndukwe came loose to sack Moore for a loss of six to the Oregon 32.
Indiana TD, 21-7, 8:17 on the clock: On third-and-goal, Kaelon Black scored on a 1-yard touchdown.
Oregon: Oregon started its drive on its 13. On first down, Moore fumbled after bumping his arm against Dierre Hill Jr. while attempting to pass on what looked like a run-pass-option play. Indiana recovered the fumble at the Ducks’ 3-yard line.
Moore looked to fake the run and then make the throw, but the mesh with Hill didn’t go properly, resulting in the fumble.
That’s two critical turnovers so far for the Ducks.
Indiana: Oregon’s punt led to the Hoosiers taking over at their 17.
Indiana faced a third-and-6. The Ducks blitzed. Pressure came from Mendoza’s right side, but he managed to slip out to the left for a gain of 21 to the Indiana 41.
However, several plays later, the drive ended when Mendoza was sacked for a 20-yard loss on a play that defies explanation.
Mendoza was hit, fumbled, but recovered the ball, tried to escape and make a throw, but was ultimately sacked by Nasir Wyatt, also credited for forcing the fumble. It was pretty wild.
Indiana punted.
Oregon: The Ducks went 3-and-out on their next drive. Needing two yards on third down from its 33, Jay Harris lost two yards. Indiana’s defensive line broke through with relative ease on that play.
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FIRST QUARTER: Indiana 14, Oregon 7
Indiana TD, lead 14-7, 0:40 on the clock: Indiana came right back with a scoring drive of its own that covered 75 yards in 11 plays.
Fernando Mendoza hit WR Omar Cooper Jr., who ran an out into the end zone from eight yards out against Aaron Flowers, who was in man coverage.
Mendoza went 4 of 4 on the drive for 41 yards.
Earlier in the drive, Mendoza hit WR Elijah Sarratt on a back shoulder pass along the left sideline that covered 23 yards.
Indiana’s running game plowed through the Ducks, gaining 39 yards on seven carries. Hemby carried the ball five times for 26 yards.
Both offenses looked far better on their first two drives than they did for most of the first matchup in October.
Ducks score TD, 7-7, 7:11 to go: Dante Moore showed great anticipation on a throw to Jamari Johnson down the right seam for a game-tying touchdown. He had to place the throw over a defender before Johnson broke open. Johnson gave a slight double move to get open.
Moore went 5 of 7 on the drive for 50 yards. The drive covered 75 yards in 14 plays.
Oregon got some solid runs from Jay Harris and Dierre Hill Jr. on the drive.
Moore was sharp, hitting Malik Benson, Harris and Kenyon Sadiq on third-down plays to keep the drive alive.
Moore hit some quick passes on the drive, but the Ducks’ offensive line also did a nice job providing protection to allow more complex plays to develop.
7-0, Indiana: On UO’s first play, QB Dante Moore threw a quick out toward the left to Malik Benson, but the pass was intercepted by cornerback D’Angelo Ponds and returned 25 yards for a TD.
Ponds had outside leverage on Benson and was in the perfect position to jump the out route.
Kick off is here: Ducks will receive. Indiana won the toss and deferred.
Dan Lanning said Noah Whittington looked good in warmups.
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3:05 p.m.: Oregon running back Noah Whittington, listed as questionable for undisclosed reasons, is dressed and warming up before the game.
No. 1 Indiana (14-0) vs. No. 5 Oregon (13-1)
- When: Friday, January 9
- Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
- Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
- TV: ESPN and ABC
- Stream: You can watch this game on DIRECTV (free trial) or with Sling (a Sling day pass to watch this game and more is just $4.99). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.
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