The Indiana Hoosiers are on the verge of a national championship.
In FOOTBALL. For the first time ever.
And we got it wrong. So very wrong.
The first offensive play of the game turned into a pick-six for the Hoosiers. It was a laugher from that point on. The Ducks looked like a Pee-Wee football team going against a high school team at times.
Fernando Mendoza threw for five touchdowns, completed 85% of his passes, and didn't clear 200 yards passing because he didn't need to. Indiana forced turnovers and converted them into scores, making it easy much of the night.
And Dante Moore, who some thought could stake a claim to being the top overall pick in the NFL Draft by outdueling Mendoza, ended up with more questions than answers, throwing an interception and losing two fumbles.
Oregon did get its trademark big plays (71, 43, and 39 yards), but they were too few and far between to make a difference. Indiana had big enough plays (36, 26, 23, 23, 21) to make up for it and keep the Ducks in check all night long.
A lot of us got it wrong about Indiana, and the disrespect is real
Yours truly thought that the Oregon / Indiana matchup would be the best game of the CFP, narrowly beating the Ole Miss / Miami matchup.
I was wrong, and in looking back, it was because I did what everyone has done all season long - disrespected Indiana, what they've done, how they got here. This team carries mountains of disrespect and has done so all year long.
Throughout the entire season, Indiana was doubted when faced with a challenge, and each time they answered the bell:
Halftime prediction from @CoachUrbanMeyer says Indiana can’t hang with Ohio State for 4 full quarters @StephOtey pic.twitter.com/KbDVmbgQe3
— 97.1 The Fan (@971thefan) November 23, 2024
Alabama will beat Indiana, Texas Tech will beat Oregon, Ohio State will beat Miami, & Georgia will beat Ole Miss. BOOK IT! https://t.co/tT2YbHoFHL
— King Ignacio (@kingxignacio) December 21, 2025
As a Ducks fan, If the Oregon offense that showed up today vs Tech, shows up then Indiana by at least 13. But I have faith that the ducks will do to Indiana what Ohio State did to us last year. Lost to us in the regular season but beat us in postseason
— UFUOCU (@kreme8727605) January 2, 2026
Arguments over the strength of schedule, if they were deserving, or even outright disrespect came and went, but at the end of the day, Curt Cignetti and Indiana slayed each dragon in succession and rose to the top of the college football world.
And now, they enter unfamiliar territory. The Hoosiers opened as 7.5 point favorites over the Hurricanes, in the biggest of big games. How will they respond? They've spent the last two seasons with a huge chip on their shoulder, carrying the disrespect and feeding off of it.
Praise and adulation from the media are the 'rat poison' that Nick Saban used to keep his team hungry during his legendary run of championships at Alabama:
With Curt Cignetti's stoic personality, Indiana will likely steer clear of reading their own clippings for the next nine days.
So we now know what Oregon, Alabama, and Ohio State found out the hard way - Indiana is for real, don't doubt them or disrespect them, they want you to. It fuels them, and they will embarrass teams that take them lightly.
Miami and Mario Cristobal had better be ready, or they'll end up like Indiana's other opponents, doubting and finding out that the Hoosiers are for real.