Indiana football expects to have one of its best players — junior cornerback D’Angelo Ponds — back on the field for its matchup with No. 3 Oregon on Saturday.
Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti said in a press conference Monday he expects Ponds to “be fine and play.” The Hoosiers face their toughest test thus far, heading on the road to Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, to take on the Ducks.
Ponds missed the Cream and Crimson’s 20-15 victory over Iowa on Sept. 27 in Iowa City, Iowa, with an undisclosed injury. He appeared to be testing his injury in the northeast tunnel nearly an hour and a half before kickoff.
He later emerged in full uniform for warmups; however, he was absent when the first-team defense took its pregame reps.
The coaching staff learned late in the week ahead of its game against Iowa that Ponds wouldn’t be available to play, Cignetti said Monday. In response, defensive coordinator Bryant Haines changed the game plan, leading the Hoosiers to play more zone coverage than he originally anticipated — Cignetti thought they did “well.”
Through four games, Ponds, who earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024, has 11 total tackles and three tackles for loss. He's picked off one pass and has one pass breakup. According to Pro Football Focus, Ponds has allowed nine receptions.
Both the No. 7 Hoosiers and the No. 3 Ducks enter Saturday coming off a bye week. ESPN’s “College GameDay” is in town for the top 10 matchup that will be televised on CBS.
“Good bye week,” Cignetti said. “Got rested up. Got practice in. Kept the fundamentals and timing sharp. Now it's 100% focus on Oregon.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
