Oregon-Indiana
Friday, January 9
7:35 p.m. Eastern, 4:35 p.m. Pacific
ESPN
Oregon-Indiana is the matchup at the 2026 Peach Bowl. Oregon has played in two previous national championship games, in the 2010 season versus Cam Newton’s Auburn and in the 2014 season against Ohio State in Year 1 of the playoff. The Ducks, however, went 0-2 in those games. They have never won a national title. That’s what makes this game special and resonant in a larger college football context. The sport will create one team which will play for its first-ever national championship later in January.
Ole Miss and Miami have won national titles in college football, but the Ducks and Hoosiers have not. The Big Ten is guaranteed to have one team in the national championship game for the third straight season, following Michigan in the 2023 season and Ohio State last season.
Indiana and Curt Cignetti continue to make history every time they play. The Hoosiers have become the story of the college football season. They won Big Ten championship for the first time since 1967, just the second Big Ten title in the history of the program. Indiana won its first Rose Bowl and playoff game. It made its first playoff semifinal. It became the first team with an opening-round bye to win a playoff game. Those “bye” teams are 1-7 in eight games. Indiana and Cignetti are the “1,” which speaks to how well-schooled this team truly is. Indiana had to fly to Los Angeles for the Rose Bowl. Now it has to travel to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. That could be a logistical problem for the Hoosiers, but Oregon had to go to Miami for the Orange Bowl and is now in Atlanta for this game. The Ducks have had to make long commutes as well, so that factor should be a wash. The fact that this game is on Friday, not Thursday, gives these teams one extra day of rest compared to the Fiesta Bowl teams (Miami and Ole Miss).
Oregon-Indiana is a rematch of regular-season game
Dante Moore has to be great for Oregon to win
Oregon-Indiana is a rematch of a midseason game in which Indiana won 30-20 at Oregon. The Ducks trailed 20-13 but tied the game on a pick-six against Fernando Mendoza. With the score knotted at 20, Mendoza led his team on a touchdown drive to regain control of the contest. Indiana was able to consistently generate a pass rush on Dante Moore, sacking the Duck quarterback several times. Oregon struggled to run the ball against Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl, so the Ducks’ offensive plan in the Peach Bowl should flow primarily through the passing game. Moore will need to play at a high level for Oregon to win. He made several mistakes against Texas Tech, but because Oregon’s defense shut out Texas Tech, those mistakes didn’t matter. If he makes more mistakes against Indiana, the Hoosiers figure to punish him. Moore has to be on his A-game for Oregon to prevail.
Oregon Ducks-Indiana Hoosiers Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the 3Dog Thursday Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: Oregon +3.5 (-105), Indiana -3.5 (-115)
Total: 46.5 (Over -115, Under -105)
Underdog moneyline: Oregon +150
With Indiana establishing such clear-cut superiority at the line of scrimmage, it’s hard to bet against the Hoosiers and Curt Cignetti, the coach who is setting the gold standard for all coaches in college football. Indiana minus the 3.5 points is the simple play.