Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti showed more intensity as the game progressed on Friday, though there was little doubt throughout as his team dominated Oregon.
Cignetti found a way to lighten up soon after, and even avoided the cliche in the process.
“I’m really not thinking about the next game. I’m thinking about cracking open a beer,” Cignetti told ESPN after a 56-22 blowout of Oregon.
The Hoosiers advanced to the national championship game for the first time amid the dominating College Football Playoff semifinal win at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Indiana dominated from the beginning when defensive back D’Angelo Ponds picked off Oregon quarterback Dante Moore for a touchdown on the first play of the game.
Moore and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza came in as the leading candidates for the top two picks in the NFL Draft in April, but Mendoza strongly outplayed Moore this time. While Moore made up for his pick-six with a tying touchdown pass, 7-7, to wide receiver Jamari Johnson, it went south for Moore with a pair of fumbles.
It never improved for Moore and the Ducks, and Indiana is off to Miami with all the momentum in the world.
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana, Put Away Oregon Quickly
Indiana didn’t let the Ducks hang around, largely thanks to Mendoza.
He answered Moore’s touchdown with an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr., 14-7, and running back Kaelon Black stretched the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Mendoza added to the lead with a 36-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Charlie Becker, 28-7 with 3:20 left before halftime. Indiana pushed the lead to 35-7 on Mendoza’s 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Elijah Saratt with 59 seconds left.
Oregon at least reached field goal range in the final minute, but kicker Atticus Sappington missed from 56 yards.
The Ducks defense couldn’t start the second half right as the Hoosiers marched downfield 75 yards in 11 plays, capped by Mendoza’s 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver E.J. Williams. Ducks running back Jay Harris answered with a 2-yard touchdown followed by Moore’s 2-point conversion, 42-15.
Indiana added another two scores during the fourth quarter when Mendoza connected with Sarratt for a 3-yard touchdown, and Black added to the blowout with a 23-yard touchdown run. Mendoza finished with 12-20 passing for 177 yards and five touchdowns, and Black finished with 63 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
Moore went 24-39 for 285 yards and two touchdowns versus a pick. Ducks running back Dierre Hill Jr. was one of the few bright spots with 86 yards on five carries.
Curt Cignetti Gets Honest on Hoosiers’ Odds
Indiana had extremely low odds of playing for a national championship this season, but the Hoosiers have smashed those odds in recent weeks.
“You all have a job to do, and a lot of times you’ll piggyback off somebody else’s story or belief, and there’s pressure to get it nowadays with the internet, get the story out there,” Cignetti told reporters afterward. “And a lot of those, people really don’t know our team. They don’t know what we’re made of, what we got. And I get it.”
“There was a lot of skepticism after last year, that we were a fluke,” Cignetti added.
Miami, Indiana’s opponent, knows all too well that the Hoosiers are anything but a fluke. The Hurricanes and Hoosiers will meet for the national championship in Miami on Jan. 19.
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti Sends Hilarious Message After Trouncing Oregon