Top-10 Hoosiers Have Earned ‘Big-Game’ Opportunity
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Time matters. Time is everything. Time could be the difference when No. 7/7 Indiana is at No. 3/2 Oregon on Saturday, the difference in allowing the Hoosiers to make a statement.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza needs time to make IU’s explosive offense go. The Hoosier defense needs to limit the time Ducks quarterback Dante Moore has to run his offense.
Do that and Indiana (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) could do what hasn’t been done since Nov. 12, 2022 -- beat the Ducks (5-0, 2-0) at Autzen Stadium. They have won 18-straight home games, and 23-straight, regular-season games overall.
Giving Mendoza that time, keeping him on his feet and away from pressure, center Pat Coogan says, is the top offensive priority.
“We have to protect him and do our jobs. We’ve got to let him shine. That's our job. That’s what we have to do.”
Hoosier quarterbacks have been sacked just five times this season. That’s five time too many, Coogan says. The offensive line can do better.
“We need to work more cohesively as a unit. It never falls on just one guy. We have to do it together. It’s all of us straining and working our butts off to keep him clean.”
Quarterback play could be the difference maker on Saturday given both teams have top-level signal-callers with nearly identical numbers.
Moore completes 74.6 percent of his passes for 1,210 yards, 14 touchdowns, and one interception. He’s rushed for 184 yards and two TDs.
“He’s a really good athlete,” linebacker Aiden Fisher says, “a really good quarterback. The ball flies out of his hand. He makes good reads. He’s really smart. He deciphers coverages well. He’s mobile. He makes a lot of plays with his legs. We have a challenge our hands.”
Mendoza completes 73.0 percent of his passes for 1,208 yards, 16 touchdowns and one interception while directing an offense that averages 47.8 points. He’s rushed for 102 yards and two scores.
Mendoza was good last year at California. He’s better now. What makes him special?
“It’s talent,” receiver Elijah Sarratt says. “He’s super talented. You saw it last game (against Iowa) with some of the throws he had.
“Then it’s his mind outside of arm talent. He can make his reads quick. If it isn’t there, he knows where to go then and there. He puts his time into it 24/7 in this facility. He’s a great quarterback.”
Fisher faces that greatness every day in practice.
“Leadership-wise, he’s been phenomenal,” he says. “His arm talent speaks for itself. Like the Oregon guy, the ball flies out of his hands. When he runs, he’s mobile. He makes people miss.
“He’s really good mentally. He’s smart in deciphering coverages and getting the ball out of his hands quick.”
How much preparation does Mendoza put into his game? Consider 45 minutes after Tuesday’s practice Mendoza was still throwing.
“His work ethic is second to none,” Coogan says. “That's what separates him. You can be as talented as possible, can have some of the best talent in the world, but if you don't have that mindset to get better every day, that work ethic, that grittiness, that toughness -- that's what really sets him apart.”
Adding to the Autzen Stadium challenge, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is 22-1 at home. Plus, the last time IU beat a top-10 team on the road was in 1987, when it won at No. 9 Ohio State.
No matter. These Hoosiers are focused on what needs to be done.
“It’s staying calm in those loud environments,” Sarratt says. “It's controlling what we can control and just doing us. I think we're ready for the moment.”
For Fisher, that means sticking to the one-game-at-a-time approach.
“Iowa was the biggest game of my career,” he says. “Now, it’s this one because it’s the next one we have to win.
“The narrative is this is a big game. It is. I think we’ve earned it. We have a really good team, as do they. I won’t put too much pressure or emphasis on it. It’s the next game.”
Hoosier head coach Curt Cignetti kept it simple when talking with Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during Thursday night’s radio show.
“Here’s the bottom line: You’ve got to block, tackle, run, catch, and protect the ball. You have to make plays. Every single play.”
For the defense, that means stopping an offense that scores every time it reaches the red zone, 23 times in all, while averaging 46.6 points.
Besides Moore at quarterback, Oregon has dynamic running backs in Dierre Hill Jr. (270 rushing yards, 10.4 yards per carry, two touchdowns), Jayden Limar (232, 5.9, three) and Noah Whittington (184, 8.8, two), and big-play receivers such as Dakorien Moore (19 catches, 296 yards, two) and Malik Benson (16, 212, two), plus tight end Kenyon Sadiq (15, 204, three).
“You have to be able to match personnel,” Fisher says. “When they come in with two backs or one back, you have to match personnel with what we do. Then, obviously, you have to be able to get the ball on the ground. That’s the biggest thing.
“No matter who has the ball, if it's a running back, a tight end, or a receiver, you've got to make them feel it, make them regret running the ball.”
Beyond that, an imposing offensive line led by center Iapani Laloulu has only allowed one sack all season.
“It’s a good offense,” Fisher says. “They throw a lot at you. There’s a lot to prepare for. A lot of it will be on us and how well can we play together. How well can we lock into our details and the keys you have to read. Where are our eyes at? Then there’s pre-snap communication.
“They have a lot of intricacies you have to be keen on or they’ll exploit you.”