Indiana dismantles Oregon 56-22 to reach CFP National Championship Game against Miami: Live updates and reaction
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:The Athletic Live Team and more
The Indiana Hoosiers beat the Oregon Ducks for the second time this season with a dominant performance at the Peach Bowl
The Indiana Hoosiers beat the Oregon Ducks for the second time this season with a dominant performance at the Peach Bowl
The Athletic Live Team and more
January 10, 2026 at 1:10 AM EST
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Indiana crushes Oregon
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers dominated Oregon 56-22 tonight at the Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The Hoosiers will face off with Miami for the national title on Jan. 19. Indiana (15-0) has beaten its two Playoff opponents (it routed Alabama in the second round) by a combined score of 94-25.
The semifinal blowout started early as Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds picked off Oregon QB Dante Moore on the game’s first offensive snap and returned it 25 yards for a score. After Oregon tied the score at 7-7, Indiana put up 35 unanswered points.
Mendoza completed 17-of-20 passes for 177 yards and five touchdowns. Moore finished with 285 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception and one fumble.
The Big Ten has a chance to win its third straight national title for the first time in more than 80 years.
The top-seeded Hoosiers (15-0) face No. 10 seed Miami (13-2) for the national championship on Jan. 19 in Miami Gardens, Fla. Should Indiana win, it will join Michigan and Ohio State in carrying the league banner. The Big Ten last won three straight titles from 1940 to 1942.
In 1940 and 1941, Minnesota extended one of the sport’s greatest dynasties, collecting its fourth and fifth national titles in an eight-year period. Both years, the Gophers won top-three showdowns against Michigan in renditions of what was the Big Ten’s preeminent rivalry over the conference’s first 50 years.
The Gophers’ 1941 squad was one of the most dominant in college football history, crushing its eight opponents by a combined score of 186-38. That year was also the final championship for legendary coach Bernie Bierman, who went into military service following the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Ohio State claimed its first national title in 1942 with a 9-1 overall record. The Buckeyes lost a Halloween showdown with Wisconsin that put the Badgers in position to earn their first title. But No. 2 Wisconsin stumbled with a late-season loss to Iowa, while Ohio State won its last four games by an average of 27 points to secure the Associated Press crown. Wisconsin finished third that season.
Michigan claimed the CFP title two years ago by stopping current Big Ten foe Washington, in the Huskies’ final season representing the Pac-12. Last year, Ohio State won four straight games in the inaugural 12-team CFP to win its championship. The Hoosiers have never won a national title.
Is Indiana the most dominant team in CFP history?
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Since the College Football Playoff began in 2014, no team has won two Playoff games by a wider combined margin than Indiana.
The Hoosiers beat Alabama by 35 and Oregon by 34; the previous CFP era record for total margin of victory over a two-game stretch was 55 by 2018-19 Clemson, which beat Notre Dame 30-3 and Alabama 44-16. The four-team Playoff era wouldn’t have included teams ranked as low as Indiana’s first two opponents — let alone its national title opponent Miami, this year’s No. 10 seed — but the top seed’s dominance thus far has been astounding.
Blowouts like Friday’s are nothing new for the Hoosiers under Cignetti. In 2024, Indiana had wins of 74, 38, 37, 49 and 66 points. This year, it won regular season games by 47, 73, 53, 50, 45 and 53 points, including a 53-point win over an Illinois team that was ranked in the top 10 at kickoff and finished 9-4.
Magnificent Mendoza
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In the last month, Fernando Mendoza has added his Heisman Trophy to his now-infamous LinkedIn page, but his play on the field has only gotten better since he won college football’s most storied individual award.
On Friday night, he put on a show while guiding Indiana into the national championship game for the first time in school history.
He completed 10-of-11 passes in the first half for 110 yards and three scores, and he slipped out of the backfield on a blitz to convert a third down with a 21-yard scramble. On his worst play of the half, he managed to recover his own fumble after a strip sack and nearly found a receiver downfield for a completion before being sacked for a second time on the play. It was the only blip in an otherwise outstanding performance among many this season.
Hoosiers fans take over the Peach Bowl
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Indiana fans flooded downtown Atlanta in the lead-up to the game, and it showed inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Outside of a small section next to the Oregon band and some patches in the lower deck, the crowd was overwhelmingly wearing crimson and rooting on the Hoosiers. Several in the press box had it as a roughly 90-10 split in favor of the Big Ten champs. The Ducks were soundly booed during their entrance.
It was the biggest Indiana football game to date, facing an Oregon program that’s already played two Playoff games: a home game and another cross-country trip to Miami for the Orange Bowl.
Indiana didn’t get to host a Playoff game because as the top seed in the College Football Playoff, it earned a first-round bye and a trip to the Rose Bowl. But Friday’s game in Atlanta was practically a Hoosiers home game anyway in a packed stadium. And it sounded like when Ponds ran in his pick six on the first play to set off the rout. By the end of the third quarter, the Hoosiers faithful were dancing along to the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” as much as the few remaining fans in green were.
Oregon’s self-inflicted wounds
For as much as the Ducks talked about putting themselves in position for things to go differently, Oregon somehow looked like a significantly worse team than when these two met in the regular season — a testament to Indiana’s defense and Oregon’s own slew of preventable mistakes.
It started from the opening moments, when Dante Moore threw a pick six on the first play from scrimmage that had Mercedes-Benz Stadium nearly bursting at the seams. Moore settled in on the second series of the night and led the Ducks on a touchdown drive, but the wheels fell off entirely in the second quarter. By halftime alone, Moore had lost two fumbles — lowlighted by a collision with running back Dierre Hill Jr. during his windup to throw that jarred the ball loose inside his own 5 — and the Hoosiers had scored 21 of their 35 first-half points on Oregon turnovers.
Moore, who now has an NFL Draft decision to make, finished the night 24-of-39 passing for 285 yards, two touchdowns and the opening interception. Take away the three first-half turnovers, and the final score may have looked a little more competitive for the Ducks. Instead, the game — and Oregon’s season — was over by halftime.
Dan Lanning’s latest CFP crash-out
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Oregon’s Dan Lanning has started his head coaching career in fine fashion with four straight double-digit-win seasons, including at least 12 wins in each of the last three. But blowout CFP losses in consecutive years could have a way of sticking to his legacy.
Last year, the Ducks won the Big Ten title in their inaugural season as a league member and entered the College Football Playoff unbeaten and ranked No. 1. After a first-round bye, they earned a trip to the Rose Bowl and faced No. 8 seed Ohio State, a rematch of a game they won 32-31 in the regular season. The Buckeyes rolled up a 34-0 second-quarter lead and blew out Oregon 41-21.
This year, Oregon lost 30-20 to Indiana in October, ran the table from there and won its first two CFP games. Then it showed up in Atlanta and fell behind 42-7 by early in the third quarter. The Ducks and Lanning will face plenty of whispers about how they perform in big games. And it’s not just a CFP issue.
In Lanning’s second season in 2023, which coincided with Oregon’s final Pac-12 season, the Ducks lost twice to archrival Washington. Their second matchup was a top-five collision for the conference championship, with the winner earning a berth in the four-team CFP. Lanning lost to eventual national champion Georgia 49-3 in his head coaching debut to open the 2022 season, but more devastatingly, the Ducks dropped late-season games to Washington and Oregon State while ranked in the top 10. The Oregon State loss cost Oregon a Pac-12 title shot.
With a 48-8 overall record in four seasons, Lanning has proven himself as one of college football’s best coaches. But his team’s showings in big games raise questions that will last all offseason — or at least until his next high-profile test.
A circle around Mendoza
Safe to say Fernando Mendoza is the most popular player on the field after he guided Indiana to a national championship game.
What's at stake for Indiana?
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The Indiana Hoosiers are trying to win their first national championship in program history with a win on Jan. 19 over Miami.
The Hoosiers would be the third Big Ten school to win the College Football Playoff National Championship, joining Michigan and Ohio State (twice).
List of CFP champions
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Indiana versus Miami will be the 12th College Football Playoff National Championship game. Below are the previous 11 winners:
After the semifinals produced an instant classic Miami win against Ole Miss and an epic beatdown by Indiana against Oregon, it’ll be IU vs. The U on Jan. 19 on the Hurricanes’ home field.
The top-ranked, undefeated Hoosiers are the clear favorites based on the opening odds, as IU is favored by 7.5 points on BetMGM.
Indiana has been favored in both of its playoff games, while Miami has been an underdog in two out of three. IU has covered both games, with the result and the spread decided before halftime in both. Miami had more drama, but has also covered in all of its playoff games.
Miami Mendoza
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Fernando Mendoza returning to his hometown Miami to play the Hurricanes for the National Championship is straight out of a Hollywood script:
Mendoza grew up a mile from Miami's campus.
Mendoza won a state championship at Miami's Columbus High, the alma mater of Mario Cristobal (Mendoza's dad and Cristobal were HS teammates in the late 80s).
Mendoza's mother played college tennis at Miami.
Mendoza dreamed of becoming Miami's QB, but Manny Diaz's staff was hesitant to even offer a walk-on spot.
Mendoza considered Miami while in the transfer portal last offseason before choosing Indiana instead.
Black's big game
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Kaelon Black has run the ball well for Indiana during the College Football Playoff, building on his impressive game against Alabama.
Last week, Black rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and tonight he totaled 63 yards on the ground with two touchdowns, continuing his strong senior season.
Indiana will need a similar performance in the National Championship Game against Miami.
Dante Moore addresses future
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Dante Moore wasn‘t committal on his future after tonight’s game. He finished with two touchdowns but three costly turnovers.
💬: “At the end of the day, I don’t know my decision yet.”
Coaching paths to title game
Curt Cignetti's first head coaching job was IUP in Division II.
Mario Cristobal's first head coaching job was FIU.
Everyone starts somewhere.
Stunning turnaround continues
Indiana football is 15-0 and will play Miami for the national championship.
It entered this year as the losingest CFB program of all time.
This is the most stunning turnaround in American sports history. The only thing close that comes to mind is Leicester City in the EPL.
Fernando Mendoza walks to the locker room, cradling the trophy as fans yell “Hoosiers!” in the background.
More of your views on tonight's game
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Here are more of your views on Indiana's impressive win over Oregon in Atlanta:
Luke E.: Can’t help but smile after seeing those postgame interviews.
John O.: Fernando is going to go very very far in life.
Asher A.: Man it is hard to hate Mendoza. What a great kid, true example of humility and a class act.
Rico Jr. The 3: Fernando, you’re going to look awesome in silver and black.
Paul E.: Kind of an odd stat line … Mendoza has five touchdowns, 56 points and only 177 yards.
Early national title game odds
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If you're already looking ahead to the College Football Playoff championship game, Indiana is a 7.5-point favorite against Miami on BetMGM.
