IU football: Three quick reasons the Hoosiers beat Oregon, highlights, stats

ATLANTA — Indiana defeated Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Peach Bowl by a final score of 56-22.

The Hoosiers advanced to the CFP national championship game where they’ll take on Miami (Fla.) in Miami on Jan. 19.

Below are three quick reasons why the Hoosiers won, along with highlights and final stats.

This story will be updated. Stay tuned for more coverage of the game from The Daily Hoosier.

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Three quick reasons why Indiana won

1. Defensive splash plays right from the start. Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds set the tone on the first play from scrimmage when he stepped in front of a Dante Moore pass and ran 25 yards for a touchdown. The IU defense was just getting warmed up. Moore would also fumble twice in the first half, once when he brushed his own running back while attempting to throw, and again when Daniel Ndukwe forced it on a sack. Both times Indiana took over inside the Oregon 25, and both times the Hoosiers scored touchdowns.

2. Mendoza is surgical. Seemingly every pass thrown by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza was perfect in tight windows. He completed 17 of 20 passes for 177 yards, with five touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the second straight CFP game he had more touchdowns than incompletions. He found seven different receivers, led by Elijah Sarratt, with seven grabs for 75 yards and two scores. And Mendoza was effective once again running the ball. He had 48 yards on the ground when excluding sacks.

3. Hoosiers able to run, convert on third. Indiana wasn’t one dimensional on the offensive end. The Hoosiers ran for 206 yards excluding sacks, with a 5.6 yards per carry average. Staying on schedule for the most part, IU started the game by converting 9 of 10 third downs and finished 11 of 14. The Hoosiers were a perfect 5 of 5 in the red zone.