Week 7 Instant Reaction: Oregon

Indiana defeated No. 3 Oregon in Eugene, 30-20. Here are some immediate thoughts, stats, and reactions.

Indiana was 0-46 on the road against AP Top-5 opponents going into its Week 7 matchup against No. 3 Oregon, and they are leaving Autzen Stadium tonight 1-46. Since 2018, Oregon had lost at home just two times — both to Mike Penix- and Kalen DeBoer-led Washington teams in 2022 and 2023 — and defeated eventual national champion Ohio State on these grounds in 2024. It’s last non-Washington home loss was to Stanford in 2018.

The Hoosiers uprooted all precedent, though — as they’ve been wont to do since September 2024 — defeating Oregon, 30-20, and clinching bowl eligibility in the fewest possible games. And they did it in fairly dominant fashion:

• Indiana ranked in the 77th percentile in success rate. Oregon was in the 22nd.

• Related to the point above, Oregon’s only scores were via a 44-yard bomb and a pick-six TD.

• Between 6 sacks and 8 TFLs, Indiana forced a loss of 73 yards, which is nearly as many yards as Oregon totaled on the ground (81).

• Oregon was 3-for-14 on third down conversions.

• Indiana reached the red zone 5 times and scored all 5 times. Oregon reached the red zone 3 times and scored twice.

• In the fourth quarter, Oregon possessed the ball for less than two minutes, gaining just 15 yards and turning the ball over twice.

• Oregon brought a 91% series conversion rate into Week 7 and only converted 63% of its series against Indiana.

The Hoosiers executed consistently and slammed the door on the Ducks late in the game, leaving no doubt. It was a truly impressive performance.

Below are several points noted in the BSB Preview and how Indiana performed within those contexts:

• Indiana’s interior pass rush showed up. On the first play from scrimmage, Mario Landino twisted and found his way into the backfield, sacking Dante Moore. While that was the last sack by an interior DL, the interior rush did not stop — by DT rush, by blitz, or by stunt. Indiana was pushing the interior OL into Moore’s face constantly. At one point, Stephen Daley pushed through and deflected a pass that was intercepted. Overall, Moore was sacked 6 times; since 2014, the Oregon QB had been sacked 6+ times just twice (Marcus Mariota in 2014, Dillon Gabriel in 2024).

• Indiana’s defense showed up on early downs. Oregon had been the 5th-best team on early downs before Week 7, gaining 0.21 EPA/play on first and second downs. On Saturday, the Ducks lost 0.29 EPA/play on early downs and averaged 7.1 yards to go on third downs.

• Indiana’s run defense continued its reputation. Coming into the week, Indiana allowed the 8th-lowest rushing success rates to opponents but traveled to a dangerous Oregon rushing attack that was averaging 6.3 yards/rush (8th nationally) entering the game. The Ducks finished in the 39th percentile for EPA/rush and averaged just 2.7 yards/carry. It was the third-worst per-carry rushing performance of the Dan Lanning Era, behind -0.8 yards/carry against Ohio State in the CFP last season and 2.4 yards/carry against Utah in 2022.

• Indiana got the big special teams play. We saw Brendan Franke attempt the 50+ yard field goal against Old Dominion and bounce it off the crossbar, but this week, when called upon to attempt a 58-yarder, he hit it twice — once before a timeout was called and once again for a 13-10 lead going into halftime. That 40-yard drive in 23 seconds was a Curt Cignetti masterclass in stealing points before the half.

• Who won the scripted window? The defensive coordinators. After each team’s first two drives of the game, they had combined for 33 yards (1.8 yards/play), and a Nico Radicic 42-yard field goal was the only score after favorable field position following an Oregon turnover on downs.

Other takeaways from the game

• Elijah Sarratt has truly grown between seasons. I’ve written before how Sarratt tended to disappear against tough opponents, with three of his five lowest yards-per-route-run totals coming against Michigan, Ohio State, and Notre Dame in 2024. That’s not been the case this season. Against Illinois, Iowa, and Oregon, Sarratt has totaled 33 catches for 345 yards and 4 TDs. His success in one-on-one situations against the Oregon DBs was a game-changer Saturday, as he not only caught the go-ahead TD for a 27-20 lead but also recorded 7 of Indiana’s 23 first downs.

• We saw Fernando Mendoza make his first egregious mistake in an Indiana uniform, when he forced a crossing route that was intercepted for a TD to tie the game at 20-20. He then went 6-of-8 for 62 yards and a passing TD to Sarratt on the next drive to take the lead.

• Indiana’s LBs — Aiden Fisher, Rolijah Hardy, Isaiah Jones — are a phenomenal unit. The Hoosiers worked out of mostly three-LB sets, as expected, meaning Jones was on the field often. They ended the game as three of IU’s four tackling leaders and combined for 3.5 sacks, 5.5 TFLs, and 7 QB pressures.

• Kellan Wyatt has emerged as a serious edge threat for Indiana. He finished the game with 1.5 sacks and 1.5 TFLs. With Mikail Kamara commanding attention on his edge, Wyatt and Isaiah Jones have been in the backfield more than anyone on the defensive front so far. I can’t say I was expecting this going into the season.

• Indiana scored via the run in the red zone (twice)! Roman Hemby recorded his first TDs as a Hoosier on Saturday, and both were scored from 3 or fewer yards out. Oregon is not the most fierce defensive front, but scoring twice in the red zone via carrying the ball is crucial for Indiana, who had really struggled to do so.

Stay tuned for the Week 7 Recap for more notes on this game!

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