'Really poor finish': Early turnovers stymie Ducks

ATLANTA -- With No. 5 Oregon trailing No. 1 Indiana 14-7 in the second quarter of Friday's College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl, Ducks quarterback Dante Moore lined up in a pistol formation.

As Moore dropped back to throw a screen pass to his left, the football brushed Oregon running back Dierre Hill Jr.'s left arm. The ball popped into the air and bounced to the Ducks' 3-yard line, where it was recovered by defensive lineman Mario Landino.

The undefeated Hoosiers (15-0) scored another touchdown three plays later on Kaelon Black's one-yard run and the rout was on at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Indiana pulled away for a 56-22 victory and will play No. 10 Miami in the CFP National Championship in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Jan. 19 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

"That's a freak deal, man," Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein said. "Dante was just throwing it out there, and it was just like the story of the night. Just literally the very edge of the football caught the [arm]."

It was the second straight ugly exit for the Ducks in the postseason. Last season, top-seeded and undefeated Oregon trailed 34-0 in the first half of a 41-21 loss to No. 8 seed Ohio State in a CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes would go on to win the CFP title.

"They started off hot, and they really didn't slow down," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said of Indiana. "They were able to run it and have success. We were able to generate a little momentum there at times, but we were so far in the hole that you couldn't [climb] yourself out of that."

It couldn't have started any worse for the Ducks, who committed three turnovers in the first half.

On Oregon's first play from scrimmage, Indiana cornerback D'Angelo Ponds jumped a route and intercepted Moore's pass to Malik Benson. Ponds, a James Madison transfer who went to IU with coach Curt Cignetti, returned the interception 25 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0 only 11 seconds into the game.

"They made a good play," Stein said. "We threw a quick out. It's one of our plays we love and just a good drive-starting play. The guy made a good play and jumped the route. It's not on Dante. The guy's open for a second."

Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines said Ponds lined up off Benson, hoping he'd make Moore believe he was playing soft zone coverage. The plan, according to Haines, was to "bait it, bite it, take it to the house."

"I'l be honest with you, I think the biggest impact was what it might have done to that quarterback, because I know that he left our last game thinking, 'I was seeing ghosts. I've cleaned those mistakes up. I'm going to be better this time,'" Haines said. "And for your first throw to cost your team six points, I think the impact on him was [significant].

"D'Angelo puts a lot of masterclasses out there, but I think that might have been one of his best performances of the season right there."

The Ducks bounced back with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that took more than 7 minutes off the clock. On third-and-12, Moore threw a pass over the top of the IU defense for a 19-yard touchdown to tight end Jamari Johnson to tie the score. It was only the second opening-drive touchdown the Hoosiers had allowed this season.

That was about Oregon's only highlight of the first half.

The Hoosiers scored five touchdowns in the first 30 minutes -- the first on Ponds' interception and two after Moore fumbled deep in Ducks territory. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza's 8-yard scoring pass to Omar Cooper Jr. put the Hoosiers back in front 14-7 with 40 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

After Oregon punted, the Ducks defense finally made a big play when linebacker Nasir Wyatt stripped the ball from Mendoza on third-and-7 at the Oregon 37. The Indiana quarterback recovered it, but the play resulted in a 20-yard sack and forced a punt.

Disaster struck again, however, on Oregon's next play when Hill's arm knocked the ball out of Moore's hand as he tried to throw.

"First thing is first, the quarterback has to protect the football," Moore said. "They have a great defense, great disguise and different looks, but you can't win football games if you're causing turnovers. [It's] something, of course, I need to work at. It comes with just reps."

Moore, who is considered a potential No. 1 pick in this year's NFL draft, along with Mendoza, completed 24-of-39 passes for 285 yards with two touchdowns. He was also sacked three times.

The sophomore didn't say whether he was ready to go to the NFL after only one season as Oregon's starter.

"I knew that question was coming," Moore said. "Yeah, I'm going to soak this moment up. That's most important, just giving hugs and just thank-yous to my teammates. But at the end of the day, I mean, I don't know my decision yet."

Unfortunately for the Ducks, it would only get worse. On Oregon's next possession, the Hoosiers sacked Moore on back-to-back plays to force a punt. After a 16-yard punt return and an 18-yard pass to Elijah Sarratt, Mendoza threw a beautiful pass down the right sideline, and Charlie Becker jumped high to catch a 36-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 28-7.

Oregon's misery wasn't over. On second-and-6 at the Oregon 29, Hoosiers defensive lineman Daniel Ndukwe sacked Moore and forced a fumble. Landino recovered the ball again at the Oregon 21. With 59 seconds left in the half, Mendoza threw a bubble screen to Sarratt, who dove into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Hoosiers a 35-7 lead at the half.

The last time the Ducks played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they trailed 28-3 at the half in a 49-3 loss to Georgia in Lanning's debut in the 2022 opener.

"We spotted these guys 21 points," said Stein, who coached his last game at Oregon after he was named Kentucky's new coach. "It's hard to win when you turn the ball over three times in your own territory. You don't do anything good for your defense in that aspect. Obviously, a poor job by us taking care of the ball."