In 1984, one person altered the course of the Oregon-based Nike corporation’s legacy forever — Michael Jordan. Once the underdog of the athletic-shoe industry, Air Jordan was the stepping stone that launched Phil Knight’s startup into the forefront of sports culture.
In 2023, one person altered the course of Indiana football — Curt Cignetti. Once the laughingstock of college football and losingest program in Division I history, his first two seasons at the helm have launched the Hoosiers into the forefront of the sport’s elite competitors.
Those two stories culminated Saturday afternoon, when Cignetti’s Indiana upset the Nike-funded then-No. 3 Oregon Ducks 30-20 at a hostile Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.
Here’s how each position group performed in the Hoosiers’ historic win:
Quarterbacks
Grade: B
Explanation: Redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza may have felt deja vu from a hard-fought win over Iowa. The Hoosiers’ signal-caller once again threw a fourth-quarter interception off his back foot; this time it gave the other team six points. Regardless, Mendoza once again shook it off the very next drive and threw a crucial touchdown to senior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt. Same sequence, same result — an Indiana win. I was critical last time and gave Mendoza a C-. However, thanks to an improved completion percentage, several important plays with his legs and the step-up in competition, his most recent showing yielded a better grade.
Running Backs
Grade: B+
Explanation: It was a relatively slow day for redshirt senior backs Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black. The two combined for 101 yards on 26 rushes — that’s 3.9 yards per carry for those of you who don’t carry a calculator. Hemby hit a career benchmark by surpassing 1,000 career receiving yards with a 22-yard reception midway through the third quarter — the Hoosiers’ third-biggest gain of the game. He also finished a pair of Indiana scoring drives with hard runs into the end zone. Even on a slow day, the Hoosiers achieved triple-digit rushing yards. They've done so in every game this season.
Receivers
Grade: A+
Explanation: Sarratt stole the show with his team-leading 121 receiving yards and eight catches that culminated in the decisive 8-yard touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter. Even so, redshirt junior Omar Cooper Jr. continued to be a defensive coach’s nightmare with 22 of his 58 receiving yards coming after the catch. The Hoosiers have yet to meet a secondary that can match up with either Sarratt or Cooper on the outside, much less both of them. Indiana’s receiving duo is arguably the best in the country and it showed on in their toughest test to date.
Offensive Line
Grade: C+
Explanation: Aside from a sack allowed by redshirt junior right guard Bray Lynch on their seventh play from scrimmage, the Hoosiers’ offensive line cleaned up its pass protection mistakes made against Iowa. Mendoza was still hurried on three occasions, but had plenty of time to work through progressions on most drop backs. The group had difficulties opening up holes in the run game against the Ducks’ big defensive front and gave up four tackles for loss. Additionally, they tallied five false start penalties as a result of Oregon’s constant presnap movement. Despite some improvements, the offensive line receives the team’s lowest grade for the second-straight game.
Defensive Line
Grade: A
Explanation: The Ducks were held to just 81 total rushing yards. Their previous season low was 176. While a large part of that disparity was a result of the 35 yards lost from six Hoosier sacks, Indiana’s defensive line deserves credit for its dominance in the trenches. The successful pass rush was largely thanks to the position group listed directly below, but the stout run defense was just as necessary for the Hoosiers to pull off the upset.
Linebackers
Grade: A+
Explanation: It's impossible for me to sum up this unit’s performance with one short paragraph. Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ decision to play senior Aiden Fisher, sophomore Rolijah Hardy and redshirt junior Isaiah Jones on the field at the same time was the best he’s made all season. Indiana’s trio of linebackers lived in the backfield, flew to the ball and were seemingly always in the right place at the right time. It’s not luck, they’re just that good. The three combined for 34 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. Even the veteran Fisher struggled to explain the group’s breakout day.
“It's hard to describe,” he said postgame. “It's just complete buy-in from each other. There's not a single moment we don't trust each other to do our job. We just feed off of each other.”
Secondary
Grade: B+
Explanation: There were questions on if the Hoosiers’ secondary could handle the speed of Oregon’s skill position players. Thanks to the relentless pass rush in front of them, it really wasn’t a problem. Junior safety Amare Ferrell got burned while looking in the backfield on a tricky Ducks play action pass in the first quarter, giving them a wide open 44-yard touchdown. Other than that mistake, the Hoosiers’ defensive backs kept Oregon’s wideouts in front of them. Redshirt sixth-year senior Louis Moore was the beneficiary of a tipped pass late in the fourth quarter and picked up his team-leading fourth interception of the season.
Special Teams
Grade: A-
Explanation: Redshirt sixth-year senior kicker Brendan Franke headlined Indiana’s special teams with his 58-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first half. Redshirt sophomore kicker Nico Radicic also converted his pair of field goal attempts and the Hoosiers held Oregon to short returns in the punt game. If not for a pair of presnap penalties, this group would have received a perfect score. Regardless, Indiana’s special teams continued its ever-so dependable play.
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.
