EUGENE, Ore. – Fresh off an intense road win in double overtime vs Penn State, the mood of No. 3 Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) turned sour when it suffered a 30-20 loss at the hands of No. 7 Indiana (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) Saturday afternoon at Autzen Stadium. The Ducks’ defeat marked just the seventh overall loss in the head coaching career of Dan Lanning (40-7) and now only his second in front of the Autzen faithful, the other coming in 2022 when Oregon fell 37-34 to rival Washington.
“They played a better game than us. They were better coached than us today, and our guys recognize that every one of our goals is still in front of us and an opportunity to attack,” Lanning said after the game.
The hype around Saturday’s contest had been seemingly building for the past week when ESPN’s College Gameday announced it would be making a third trip to Eugene in the last four years and the 13th overall in the show’s history. The writing was on the wall for the makings of a good matchup with both squads eager to take that next big leap towards the College Football Playoff.
The game began in an unusual fashion for Oregon as its offensive line surrendered a sack on the first play from scrimmage, only having given up one prior through the first five games. That sparked the Indiana defense to force a turnover on downs in which it used a short field to produce a 42-yard field goal and the first points of the game. However, the Ducks were quick to respond with a three-play, 51-yard drive capped off by a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dante Moore to wide receiver Malik Benson, giving Oregon a 7-3 advantage, its largest and only lead of the game. Never daunted, the Hoosiers came right back with a physical five-minute drive using a three-yard Roman Hemby touchdown run as the exclamation point to put Indiana on top 10-7 at the end of the first.
The second quarter saw little scoring with each side trading field goals, but most notably, IU Head coach Curt Cignetti drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after arguing with officials over a no-call on a defensive pass interference against Oregon, which ultimately stalled out that Hoosier drive. That exchange potentially lit a fire under the Indiana side, as with 24 seconds left to play in the half, Oregon kicker Atticus Sappington missed a 36-yard field goal, which would have almost surely put Oregon ahead at the break. Instead, it was Indiana using the little remaining time to march down the field and hit a 58-yard field goal attempt off the foot of kicker Brendan Franke right before halftime, a career-long. The 13-10 deficit was the only time the Ducks had trailed through the first two quarters of play in any of their games this season.
Out of the break, the Ducks’ defense forced two punts and was able to knot the game back up at 13 all in the third after a 40-yard Sappington field goal, but again it was Indiana that was able to answer the bell with its second of three 75-yard touchdown drives in the game following an Oregon score. Once again, it was Hemby punching it in the endzone from inside the five to give Indiana a 17-10 lead with 2:16 to play in the third quarter.
Things began to look somewhat dire for the Ducks, down by seven heading into the final frame and having little to no experience trailing late at home. On a third-and-2 from his own 22-yard line, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw a costly interception into the hands of freshman defensive back Brandon Finney Jr., which he returned 35 yards for a pick six and again evened up the score at 20-20. A once nervous Autzen crowd of 59,925, the 15th largest in program history, could rest a little easier for the moment.
As it turned out, it was the Hoosiers who would get the last laugh, rattling off 10 unanswered points to close out the game, including an 8-yard go-ahead touchdown pass from Mendoza to wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, giving IU a lead they would never relinquish. Another Indiana field goal sandwiched in between a couple of Dante Moore interceptions sealed Oregon’s fate as they dropped their first game of the 2025 campaign, 30-20.
“I feel like we didn’t have our routine, just from the start to the end,” said Moore, who finished his day going 21 for 34 on passing attempts for 186 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. “I feel like overall, we kind of beat ourselves.”
On the other side, Coach Cignetti of Indiana captured his second top-ten win of the season and is now 11-1 against conference opponents since taking the wheel in Bloomington at the start of 2024.
“Great win. Really proud of the team, proud of the coaches. [I] feel really great for our fans and supporters,” Cignetti said.
For Oregon football, the loss snapped what was a 23-game regular season and an 18-game home winning streak, both of which were the longest in the nation. Next week, the Ducks will look to bounce back as they fly out east again, this time to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten). Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. PST and 6:30 p.m. local in Piscattaway, NJ.