Oregon season ends with 56-22 loss in Peach Bowl

 

 

ATLANTA — Fernando Mendoza threw five touchdown passes and Indiana capitalized on three Oregon turnovers for 21 points as the Hoosiers ran away from the Ducks 56-22 in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl on Friday night.

Mendoza was 17 of 20 for 177 yards and didn’t throw an interception, repeatedly finding Elijah Sarratt for chunk gains and finishing drives with quick-strike throws near the goal line. Sarratt caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns as Indiana went 5 for 5 in the red zone and scored touchdowns on its first five trips inside the 20.

The game turned almost immediately.

On Oregon’s first snap, quarterback Dante Moore’s pass was intercepted by D’Angelo Ponds at the Oregon 25 and returned 25 yards for a touchdown, giving Indiana a 7-0 lead 11 seconds into the game. Oregon answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Jamari Johnson to tie it 7-7, but the opening blow was a preview of the night to come.

Indiana closed the first quarter ahead 14-7 on Mendoza’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. with 40 seconds left. Then the second quarter became a decisive avalanche.

Oregon’s defense briefly provided a spark when Nasir Wyatt sacked Mendoza for a 20-yard loss and forced a fumble that Indiana recovered. But Oregon handed the ball right back two plays later. Moore kept the ball on a quarterback run from the Oregon 13, lost 10 yards and fumbled at the Oregon 7. Mario Landino recovered at the Oregon 3, and Kaelon Black punched it in from the 1 to make it 21-7.

Indiana struck again on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Mendoza to Charlie Becker for a 28-7 lead, then got another short field when Dominique Ratcliff and Daniel Ndukwe sacked Moore and forced a fumble at the Oregon 21. Six plays later, Mendoza found Sarratt for a 2-yard touchdown with 59 seconds left in the half, pushing the lead to 35-7.

Oregon’s last chance before intermission ended when Atticus Sappington’s 56-yard field goal attempt came up short as time expired, leaving the Ducks down four touchdowns at the break.

Moore finished 24 of 39 for 285 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception, but Oregon’s night was defined by the giveaways and the cascading field position they created. The Ducks lost two fumbles and threw an interception, and Indiana scored 21 points off turnovers.

The Hoosiers kept piling on after halftime. Mendoza led Indiana 75 yards on the opening drive of the third quarter, finishing it with a 13-yard touchdown pass to E.J. Williams Jr. for a 42-7 lead. Oregon finally found some life when Dierre Hill Jr. broke a 71-yard run to the Indiana 4, setting up Jay Harris’ 2-yard touchdown run. Moore hit Johnson for the two-point conversion to trim it to 42-15.

But Indiana answered by leaning on its run game and its efficiency on third down. The Hoosiers went 11 of 14 on third down and rushed for 185 yards, with Black (12 carries, 63 yards) and Khobie Martin (4 carries, 42 yards) providing timely bursts. Black also scored twice, including a 23-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that made it 56-15.

Oregon’s final points came in the last minute, when Moore threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Roger Saleapaga with 22 seconds left.

For Oregon, Johnson led the receivers with four catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Hill added 86 rushing yards on just five carries, highlighted by the 71-yard sprint that set up Oregon’s third-quarter score. The Ducks outgained Indiana 378-362 and threw for 285 yards, but were outrushed 185-93 and couldn’t overcome the short fields and quick finishes Indiana created.

Indiana’s most damaging sequence came early — the pick-six on the opening play — and the Hoosiers never let Oregon settle after that, turning pressure, takeaways and third-down execution into a rout that ended the Ducks’ season one step short of the national title game.