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01/07 12:11 CST No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon turn CFP Peach Bowl semifinal
into celebration of Big Ten's supremacy
No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon turn CFP Peach Bowl semifinal into celebration
of Big Ten's supremacy
By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) --- The Big Ten is marching into the heart of Southern football
with a proud swagger, daring any conference to challenge its claim as the power
to beat in the College Football Playoff.
Undefeated No. 1 Indiana (14-0, CFP No. 1 seed) and No. 5 Oregon (13-1, CFP No.
5) have turned the CFP semifinal at Friday night's Peach Bowl into a Big Ten
celebration.
Atlanta is home to the Atlantic Coast Conference's Georgia Tech, and
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is the annual site of the Southeastern Conference
championship game. Those leagues will be represented in Thursday night's first
CFP semifinal between Miami and Mississippi in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Peach Bowl winner may be favored in the national championship game on Jan.
19 as the Big Ten looks for its third straight title, following Ohio State and
Michigan the last two seasons.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning, the former Georgia defensive coordinator who also
coached at Alabama and Arizona State, among other schools, says the Big Ten has
made a strong claim to national supremacy that will be on display in the
semifinal game. Oregon or Indiana will have an opportunity to give the
conference its third different national champion in three years.
"I've been a part of the SEC, just like coach (Curt) Cignetti has," Lanning
said of the Indiana coach, who also is a former Alabama assistant. "I've been a
part of the old Pac-12. I've been a part of a bunch of different conferences,
and it's hard to argue that anybody is doing it better right now than the Big
Ten. There's some quality from top to bottom."
Added Cignetti: "Oregon is a great football team. But the Big Ten is a great
conference, a lot of good teams top to bottom. And that's a great thing about
the playoffs. You give 12 teams a chance to win it all, and at the end of the
day there's one standing."
Rematch Indiana took a 30-20 win at Oregon on Oct. 11 to hand the Ducks their only loss. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore threw two interceptions and was sacked six times. "We just didn't play up to our standard," Oregon running back Noah Whittington said. "It's simple as that. We just got to come out, play our brand of football, and we'll take care of business."
Hoosiers winning with balance Cignetti guided the Hoosiers' surprising climb to the top of the AP Top 25 with the impressive combination of a powerful defense, strong running game and the leadership of quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner who led the nation with 36 touchdown passes. The Hoosiers rank 10th in the nation with 220.7 rushing yards per game. They rank third in scoring with 41.6 points per game. The defense ranks second with its averages of 10.3 points, 242.6 yards and 73.7 rushing yards allowed.
CFP momentum Each team is coming off dominant wins in the CFP quarterfinal round. Indiana overwhelmed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl as Mendoza passed for 192 yards and three touchdowns. The Ducks shut out Texas Tech 23-0 in the Orange Bowl as freshman Brandon Finney Jr. had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Going For It Lanning has become known for his sometimes bold play-calling, including a proclivity to go for it on fourth down. The Ducks converted on four of eight fourth-down attempts in the win over Texas Tech. Oregon successfully faked a punt on fourth down in the first half. Late in the game, Jordan Davison scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down to pad the final margin. Earlier this year, Oregon converted on five of seven fourth-down attempts in a double-overtime victory over Penn State. Through 14 games, the Ducks have been successful 14 times on 30 fourth-down attempts. In contrast, Indiana has converted eight of 16 attempts through 14 games. Lanning solidified his reputation for unconventional plays last year in the Ducks' 32-31 regular-season victory over Ohio State, when the young coach exploited an illegal substitution penalty late in the game to take time off the clock. Soon thereafter, the NCAA issued guidance to close the loophole.
Ducks' RB depth chart takes a hit The Oregon depth chart at running back took a hit on Tuesday when Davison was listed as out on the availability report. The CFP report didn't specify why Davison has been ruled out. The Oregonian reported Davison had broken his clavicle against Texas Tech. Davison has rushed for 667 yards and 15 touchdowns. Whittington leads the team with 829 rushing yards. ___ AP Sports Writer Anne M. Peterson contributed to this report. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Rematch Indiana took a 30-20 win at Oregon on Oct. 11 to hand the Ducks their only loss. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore threw two interceptions and was sacked six times. "We just didn't play up to our standard," Oregon running back Noah Whittington said. "It's simple as that. We just got to come out, play our brand of football, and we'll take care of business."
Hoosiers winning with balance Cignetti guided the Hoosiers' surprising climb to the top of the AP Top 25 with the impressive combination of a powerful defense, strong running game and the leadership of quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner who led the nation with 36 touchdown passes. The Hoosiers rank 10th in the nation with 220.7 rushing yards per game. They rank third in scoring with 41.6 points per game. The defense ranks second with its averages of 10.3 points, 242.6 yards and 73.7 rushing yards allowed.
CFP momentum Each team is coming off dominant wins in the CFP quarterfinal round. Indiana overwhelmed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl as Mendoza passed for 192 yards and three touchdowns. The Ducks shut out Texas Tech 23-0 in the Orange Bowl as freshman Brandon Finney Jr. had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Going For It Lanning has become known for his sometimes bold play-calling, including a proclivity to go for it on fourth down. The Ducks converted on four of eight fourth-down attempts in the win over Texas Tech. Oregon successfully faked a punt on fourth down in the first half. Late in the game, Jordan Davison scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down to pad the final margin. Earlier this year, Oregon converted on five of seven fourth-down attempts in a double-overtime victory over Penn State. Through 14 games, the Ducks have been successful 14 times on 30 fourth-down attempts. In contrast, Indiana has converted eight of 16 attempts through 14 games. Lanning solidified his reputation for unconventional plays last year in the Ducks' 32-31 regular-season victory over Ohio State, when the young coach exploited an illegal substitution penalty late in the game to take time off the clock. Soon thereafter, the NCAA issued guidance to close the loophole.
Ducks' RB depth chart takes a hit The Oregon depth chart at running back took a hit on Tuesday when Davison was listed as out on the availability report. The CFP report didn't specify why Davison has been ruled out. The Oregonian reported Davison had broken his clavicle against Texas Tech. Davison has rushed for 667 yards and 15 touchdowns. Whittington leads the team with 829 rushing yards. ___ AP Sports Writer Anne M. Peterson contributed to this report. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
