With college football season starting to creep up, we’re running down Indiana’s schedule to preview all 12 opponents for 2025.
Indiana’s first bye week of the season comes in week six. Curt Cignetti and his team will face one of its toughest challenges of the season coming out of that off-week: a road test at Oregon. The Ducks were one of the best teams in the country last season, completing an undefeated regular season and winning the Big Ten championship. This will be the fourth-ever matchup between IU and UO, and the first meeting since 2004, when the Hoosiers earned a 30-24 win in Eugene.
- Opponent: Oregon
- Date/Time/TV: Saturday, October 11, time TBD
- Location: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Ore.
- 2024 record/postseason result: 13-1, 9-0 Big Ten, 45-37 Big Ten Championship Game win over Penn State, College Football Playoff No. 1 seed, 41-21 CFP quarterfinals loss to No. 6 seed Ohio State in the Rose Bowl
Returning production, offense: 40 percent (per Bill Connelly/ESPN) (107th in the country)
Offensive outlook: The Ducks underwent a lot of turnover all around the roster after last season, but the offense will look particularly different. They bring back only one offensive player who started more than half their games in 2024, center Iapani Laloulu. Right guard Dave Iuli started four of the final five games last year, including the conference title game. USC transfer left guard Emmanuel Pregnon started all 13 games for the Trojans last year, so he brings experience to the UO offensive line.
Dan Lanning’s team boasted a top-25 offense in the country in 2024, with a particularly strong passing game. The systems will be the same, but most of the personnel will be different. So those prior numbers only mean so much.
Redshirt sophomore Dante Moore steps into the spotlight at quarterback this year for Oregon. He saw very minimal action last season under Dillon Gabriel, but he did appear in nine games with five starts as a true freshman at UCLA in 2023. The former five-star recruit threw for 1,610 yards with a 53.5 completion percentage, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions that year.
Redshirt senior running back Noah Whittington rushed for 540 yards on 118 carries with six touchdowns last season behind Jordan James. He should take on a larger role this season, along with Tulane transfer Makhi Hughes, who finished 10th in the nation last year with 1,401 yards on 265 carries with 15 touchdowns.
Redshirt senior receiver Gary Bryant Jr. took a backseat last season, but he was more productive in 2023 with 442 yards on 30 receptions and four touchdowns. He also caught 44 passes for 579 yards and seven touchdowns at USC in 2021. Florida State transfer Malik Benson (32 receptions, 519 yards, four touchdowns) could step into a key role for UO as well. And watch out for true freshman receiver Dakorien Moore, the top receiver in the class of 2025 and No. 4 overall player in the class, per 247Sports Composite.
Returning production, defense: 45 percent (per Bill Connelly/ESPN) (95 in the country)
Defensive outlook: Oregon’s defense also ranked among the nation’s best last season (15th in total defense), but has just three returning starters. However, two of those three earned All-Big Ten second team honors in 2024. Defensive end Matayo Uigaleilei led UO with 12.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks, and he also recorded six QB hurries, two forced fumbles, and one blocked kick. And redshirt senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher finished as Oregon’s leading tackler last year.
In other spots, UO will turn to some other players stepping into larger roles this year, like redshirt junior Devon Jackson. The linebacker was the team’s sixth-leading tackler last year, and he could be more productive with a higher snap count.
The Ducks will also feature some key defensive transfers. Safety Dillon Thieneman, who transferred from Purdue, was one of the biggest portal additions across college football this offseason. Northwestern transfer Theran Johnson should also be important, along with USC transfer defensive tackle Bear Alexander.
Special teams outlook: Ross James didn’t punt enough last season to qualify for the Big Ten leaderboard, but his 45.5 average would’ve ranked second among conference punters. He’s back as a redshirt senior this year. Redshirt senior Atticus Sappington returns at placekicker, as well, after going 14 for 16 on field goals and 41 for 43 on extra points last year. Tez Johnson earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as a returner last season, but the receiver moved on to the NFL. It’s unclear who will fill that spot.
Overall Outlook: Oregon will be really good in 2025. Many of the faces will be new, but this team is still loaded with talent. This will be one of Indiana’s most difficult games of the entire season. The Ducks may not be the best team in the Big Ten like they were last year, and they may not go undefeated in the regular season again. But this is one of the best teams in the conference and in the nation.
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