Believe in Indiana: Hoosiers cement themselves as true force in college football with key win over Oregon

So ... do you believe yet, or are you going to twist yourself in circles looking for a way to dismiss No. 7 Indiana again? Maybe, if you squint hard enough, you can convince yourself that No. 3 Oregon needed double overtime to beat a Penn State team that's lost to UCLA and Northwestern since. Clearly, Penn State stinks, so beating it is no big deal. Therefore, Indiana beating Oregon isn't a big deal.

Does that work for you?

Or are you ready to accept the fact that college football is different now than it was a few years ago? We're in an era where hiring the right coach and investing money wisely into your football program can quickly change your fortunes, but while most of the college football world has been looking to Texas Tech as some kind of test case for the transfer portal and NIL spending, Indiana's been here over a year now.

Armed with Mark Cuban donations and Curt Cignetti's brash approach, Indiana sets up for sustained success

Richard Johnson

People wanted to dismiss the Hoosiers as a cute story after last season -- the kind of magical college football fluke that sometimes arises before disappearing. I don't blame any of them. I was skeptical the Hoosiers would be able to repeat last season's success, but unlike a lot of people, I realized my folly three weeks ago. That's when Indiana obliterated an Illinois team ranked in the top 10 by a score of 63-10. That win was dismissed as Illinois -- which won 10 games in 2024 and was ranked in the top 10, but, like Indiana, isn't supposed to be good -- not being any good.

Because winning a conference game by 53 points is something any old team can do.

There's no dismissing what happened in Eugene on Saturday. Indiana went on the road and beat No. 3 Oregon 30-20, and it was no fluke. This was an Oregon team that came into the Big Ten last year and went undefeated en route to winning the conference. It was the same Oregon team that had the nation's longest win streak of 23 games, and the same Oregon team that had the nation's longest home winning streak at 18 games.

Those streaks are over now. Indiana ended them. Indiana ended them by outplaying Oregon in every phase of the game. The Ducks' offense had been one of the most explosive and dangerous in the country, and the Hoosiers held it to 20 points and 4.2 yards per play. They held it to 2.7 yards per rush.

The game was hyped as a battle between two of the best quarterbacks in the country, and Indiana's Fernando Mendoza outplayed Oregon's Dante Moore. He threw for 215 yards and rushed for 31. He also threw a pick six, but that was one fewer interception than Moore threw.

Not that you can blame Moore for struggling; he was pressured routinely. Indiana's defense finished the game with six sacks and eight tackles for loss. It also got off the field, letting the Ducks convert only six of their 18 third and fourth-down attempts.

It was not a perfect game, nor a clean one. Indiana committed six false starts, which was a testament to the road environment at Autzen Stadium. There was the Mendoza pick six that tied the game at 20 early in the fourth quarter that seemingly shifted the momentum. Perhaps last year's Indiana would've relented. This year's didn't. This year's Indiana responded by marching 75 yards to take the lead back and then intercepted Dante Moore a few plays later.

It's the first time in program history Indiana has defeated a top-five opponent, and come Monday, Indiana will be a top-five team itself. So, perhaps it doesn't matter if you or I believe yet. Indiana does, and that seems to be all that matters.