ATLANTA – The competition has started early here at the Peach Bowl.
Wednesday night, Oregon and Indiana’s team planes landed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport at virtually the same time a little after 8 p.m. Local time. They could see each other on the tarmac, the planes about 50 yards apart. A 40-minute media session was scheduled at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for each team before they could check into their hotels and call it a night.
Realizing this, the teams essentially raced, aided by their police escorts, down the interstate to the stadium so they could meet with the media first and wrap up their check-in. Indiana arrived two minutes before Oregon. The four Ducks players and two assistant coaches had to wait in side rooms for 40 minutes to start their session.
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Prior to the coaches press conferences at the College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday morning, Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti were asked to sign some commemorative footballs.
“He beat me here,” Lanning said. “He got a jump start (on signing the footballs), so I quickly went to two-minute mode and was trying to catch up. His signatures looked a lot better than mine, but I put some pressure on him at the end.”
Lanning said Cignetti finished first, but called it a fun challenge. So far, it is IU 2, Oregon zip.
Another side competition that will be played out during Friday night’s main event, when the 14-0 Hoosiers and 13-1 Ducks will fight to advance to the national championship game in Miami, will be between the two quarterbacks who are potentially battling to be QB1 in April’s NFL Draft.
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When the two met in October, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore were certainly NFL prospects but not quite at the top of the draft. Mendoza was climbing faster mostly because of his experience and polish, but Moore was close behind due to his immense talent, which made him a 5-star recruit coming out of high school in Michigan.
Indiana beat Oregon 30-20 and both QBs finished with similar numbers. Mendoza was 20 for 31 for 215 yards with 1 TD and 1 very bad INT. Moore was 21 for 34 for 186 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs.
The interceptions in Moore’s stat line proved critical, as both came in the fourth quarter with the Ducks trying to rally. Mendoza’s pick was also costly, as it was a pick-six by Brandon Finney Jr., but he showed composure, as he has done all season, and rallied his squad to the win.
Since then, neither passer has lost, and their stock has continued to rise.
Lanning said Indiana’s defense is difficult to diagnose as the Hoosiers are adept at presenting a pre-snap look and then switching into a different coverage post-snap. He feels Moore has gotten better at recognizing looks as the year has progressed.
“When we played earlier in the season, Dante hadn’t played a ton of games,” Lanning said. “As you play an entire season, you get exposed to a lot of looks and you learn from those moments. He’s been a great player for us and done an unbelievable job, but he’s not the same player he was earlier in the year.”
Indiana’s win in Eugene started Mendoza’s climb that eventually landed him the Heisman Trophy. He has completed 72 percent of his passes with 36 touchdowns and six interceptions entering Friday night. It is his preparation, however, that has scouts excited and his head coach impressed.
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“He prepares unlike anybody I've ever been around collegiately and at the quarterback position,” Cignetti said. “He wants to be great. His idol was Tom Brady. His preparation is organized and specific and detailed. Like you can work, but you gotta work smart, right? And I think he's made a lot of improvement when you look at him from the first game to where he is now, and he's played really good at the end of the games, and he's a warrior. I really can't say enough good things about what he's done since the day we got him till today, except he's gotta play damn good tomorrow.”
Some mock drafts have Mendoza as the first quarterback on the board. Others have Moore. Oregon’s signal-caller, of course, has the option of returning to Oregon and has yet to officially declare for the NFL Draft. That decision will come after the College Football Playoff. Moore has started 19 games, five at UCLA and 14 at Oregon, and he has two years of college eligibility remaining. He can give himself more options if he can avenge the earlier loss to Oregon and put the Ducks in the national championship game.
“I know Dante is trying to find the things that didn't go right (in the first game) and how he can be better,” Lanning said. “I have a lot of confidence in Dante and the way he preps, and knowing he maybe felt like he forced some things in this first game. He's not the same guy at this point in the season.”
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The betting line for the Peach Bowl sits at 3.5 in favor of Indiana, meaning oddsmakers are expecting a closer game than the one in Eugene. Both coaches were asked the keys to the game, and while neither specifically mentioned their quarterback, the QB that plays better will likely advance to Miami.
“I think it always starts with the ball,” Lanning said. “The team that's able to take care of the ball. Last time we played, we didn't. You have to take care of the ball. We were able to create a takeaway as well, but we ended up having two. I think that's a big piece of this.”
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