The latest ‘biggest game in IU football history’ is rapidly approaching.
No. 1 Indiana takes on No. 5 Oregon Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. This College Football Playoff game airs on ESPN. Both teams have taken part in press conferences throughout the week leading up to the game, first on campus in Bloomington and Eugene, Ore. and later in Atlanta.
Here is a collection of quotes from Oregon players from media availabilities on Monday and Tuesday, of the Ducks answering questions about Indiana.
Watch: IU football coordinators Bryant Haines and Mike Shanahan preview Peach Bowl
Q. You being a state of Indiana guy, what will it mean to go against the Hoosiers on Friday? You have those family connections to Purdue. Is it hard for you to see Indiana University having the success they’ve had over the last two years?
DILLON THIENEMAN: I mean, props to them for what they’ve done. I definitely have my own kind of feelings about the game and that team and stuff, so…
Excited to get out there and play.
Q. Having gone up against their wide receivers recently this season, what can you say about the receiving corps of Indiana, what that test was like?
DILLON THIENEMAN: I’d say they’re very good all around. They got (Elijah) Sarratt, the slot, then 80 also starting to come on later in the season. They got some size. They got some length. They can push you down the field.
They’re good at kind of just hitting all areas of the zone. I think Mendoza is a very efficient passer. He can scramble when he needs to.
Q. Do you have any connections on that side of things with IU as far as former teammates or friends? What has it been like as an in-state guy seeing IU come to prominence?
DILLON THIENEMAN: Yeah, I definitely know a few guys on that team. Just coming from Purdue, I think you know how I feel about them (smiling). Don’t need to say it.
Q. How much is Fernando a focal point?
MATAYO UIAGALELEI: You always want to get pressure on the quarterback. I would definitely say (Fernando) Mendoza, I wouldn’t say he’s the most athletic, not like the Washington quarterback where this guy is freaking running all over the place. I will say I think he’s one of the best scramblers in the country as far as decision-making.
I think having a good cage, caging him in that pocket, pushing that pocket, is definitely important.
Q. Bryce, going back to the regular season matchup, is there anything that sticks out most in your mind?
BRYCE BOETTCHER: Yeah, a couple things defensively. First off, when you stop the run, they’re really good at running the ball. We got to do that. Got to cage your quarterback. Feel like he’s overlooked for how good he is at scrambling at times getting out of the pocket. Got to do that, just do our job.
Q. Your take as somebody who has gone against Indiana’s offensive line, give me a player’s view, what makes them good?
BRYCE BOETTCHER: Yeah, they’re smart, fast and physical. I know up front in their run game they play physical and they do their job. They don’t have a lot of unblocked hats. I know in the screen game they get out and are elite at kind of retracing and blocking for their receiver in the screen game, which was present in our last game. We’ve done a lot of screen drills.
They’re a good unit, they play well together and do their job.
Q. Isaiah, I’m curious on having faced Indiana once before, what is it that makes them so difficult to — and protections in particular to stop?
ISAIAH WORLD: That’s a good question. I think we already went over before. They got a good coach over there, good program. A lot of dudes with like mindset as we have. They got a lot of stuff. They got a good style of defense, multiple different coverages they play out of.
It’s just a lot of looks that we have to account for. And we just — we need to make sure we are all on the same page as far as our communication and stuff. That’s what hindered us last time.
Q. You touched on it a little bit, but what do they do that is that difficult? Because a whole bunch of defenses run similar pressures, but they generate more TFLs than almost anyone in the country. So everybody goes about preparing for this, and yet they still manage to have success. Do they show a variety of looks, or what is it that makes them so successful?
ISAIAH WORLD: Yeah. Like I said before, they got like — they got a good group of guys. So that definitely makes it hard. No. 4, their linebacker (Aiden Fisher), I learned that this week he has the free-for-all to go give the defense new calls and stuff.
So sometimes they’re like they check to match our personnel or they match anything we do. They check when we check, and they do anything to get the most advantageous look for their defense.
So it’s trying to find those little keys and stuff that they do. Like even just I know — like I told — I just already said it earlier, but a lot of it is just communication and making sure we’re all on the same page, because with all the variety, we all have to be on the same page. I mean, it’s not hard. It’s just playing with effort and then just going, playing harder, longer than the whistle than they are.
Q. They generate about as many TFLs as any team in the country defensively. What is it about what they do that is able to generate that much pressure, whether it’s in pass rush or getting after you guys in the back field?
NOAH WHITTINGTON: They do a lot of exotic pressures, sim pressures. They’re a really disciplined defense. They’re real good at what they do.
And as far as like up front, they do a lot of games. They do a lot of movements, stunts, twist game. I feel like our O-line is going to handle that and it won’t be a problem.
Q. They generate about as many TFLs as anybody in the country. I think they had the most of any opponent against you guys. What is it they do so effectively to be able to generate that pressure, not just in sacks, but, yes, also in sacks?
KENYON SADIQ: Yeah. Obviously they have great players. Second to that, they have great schemes. So, I mean, when you look at the stints they do, same pressures, all those things, just even players winning their one-on-ones on the edges. The edges do a great job.
So I think Tech was a good game for us. I think they’re the best front in the country. So, again, they’ll look at those guys and heading up to these guys, which is another great unit. I think it will be good for us.
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