Indiana Rolls Past Oregon, 56–22, as Cal’s Transfer Portal Stakes Come Into Focus
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ATLANTA, Ga. — In a game that served as a double-edged sword for Cal’s transfer portal strategy, Indiana routed the Ducks 56–22, sending the Hoosiers to the National Championship, where they will face the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Jan. 19.
Oregon’s First Half Woes
The game started in a frenzy, with Dante Moore throwing a pick-six to the Indiana defense on the first play of the game. D’Angelo Ponds came away with the interception — his second of the year. The crimson crowd erupted in the opening moments, forcing Moore to recalibrate.
Moore responded with a long, methodical drive, consisting of 14 plays for 75 yards, slinging it past Indiana’s linebackers for a 19-yard touchdown to Jamari Johnson.
Fernando Mendoza had his first chance to respond to the Ducks’ defense, operated by Cal’s Tosh Lupoi. Coming into the game, Mendoza had 36 touchdowns and 3,172 yards, securing Indiana’s first Heisman Trophy in his final year of college football.
Indiana drove decisively down the field, displaying a well-balanced attack of shotgun rushes and accurate throws. In 11 plays, Mendoza covered 75 yards, finishing the drive with an 8-yard lob to Omar Cooper Jr, bringing the score to 14–7.
Lupoi responded by applying pressure in the pocket, shoring up the holes on his 4-3 defensive front. The drive resulted in a fumble that bounced back into Mendoza’s hands at midfield, as the Ducks made their first of just three stops on the night.
The Ducks continued to collapse on the offensive end, handing the ball back into the hands of Mendoza on their own 3-yd line. The Hoosiers further capitalized off of Oregon’s mistakes, stretching their lead to two scores with a 1-yard rush by Kaelon Black. With eight minutes left in the first half, Indiana was leading 21–7.
Indiana’s defense continued throwing its weight around, harassing Dante Moore, giving him zero space in the pocket to make a decision. On the other end, Lupoi’s defense committed multiple penalties, allowing Mendoza to carve up the their secondary.
To rub salt in an open wound, Mendoza found Charlie Becker for a 36-yard TD on a beautifully placed football over Oregon’s Brandon Finney Jr — extending the lead at 28–7 with three minutes remaining.
Furthering the damage, Dante Moore immediately fumbled for the third turnover of the night as the Ducks’ protection continued to deteriorate, granting Mendoza the opportunity to find Elijah Sarratt for a two-yard TD.
Oregon responded with a drive of their own, however, with time ticking off the clock, they settled for a 56-yard FG which was missed by Atticus Sappington.
As the first half resulted in a comfortable margin for the Hoosiers, 35–7, Oregon’s head coach, Dan Lanning was tasked with a seemingly insurmountable task: to crawl their way out from a self-inflicted hole, down 28.
Indiana Smooth Sailing: Cruising To A Championship
'The story wasn’t much different in the second half.
The Ducks didn’t have many chances to flip the script on Indiana.
Even as they managed to weasel out a two-yard touchdown rush by Jay Harris, followed up by a successful two-point conversion, bringing the score to 42–15, the pendulum never swung.
The score remained stagnant into the fourth quarter until the Hoosiers forced another turnover, this time on special teams. The blocked punt set them up for success on their own 7-yard line. Indiana followed up with a three-play drive, resulting in a touchdown, bringing their lead to 49–15.
No matter how hard they attempted to swim out of the whirlpool, Oregon never recovered.
Mendoza maintained his accuracy throughout the game, picking apart Lupoi’s defense for a final stat line that read: 17/20, 177 yards, and 5 touchdowns.
Although Indiana’s offense had no trouble stacking points in the box score, the game was defined by rigid defense and Oregon’s mistakes.
Moore finished the game 23/38, throwing for 284 yards and 1 touchdown, while throwing a pick-six and surrendering two fumbles behind an O-line that never protected him.
The final score of 56–22 tells the story of a powerhouse Indiana team, led by head coach Curt Cignetti, ready to storm into Miami with his Heisman quarterback: Fernando Mendoza.
What This Means For Cal:
Whichever direction this game went would've ultimately aided Cal’s efforts in the CFB transfer portal, with the window for entry closing next Friday, Jan. 16.
As Mendoza advances to the national championship, Cal receives a claim to fame as a QB factory – sending quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff, and now, Fernando Mendoza, to the NFL.
Although Mendoza didn’t achieve this stardom in the turf of California Memorial Stadium, he was bred in the intense academic environment of U.C. Berkeley for three years, cultivating his NFL instincts under Justin Wilcox.
Lupoi, who replaced Wilcox as Cal’s head coach, would have ben placed in an uncomfortable situation had he won last night— continuing to over-allocate his time as the head coach and lead recruiter of Cal while also the defensive coordinator of the championship-bound Ducks.
Recently, at a press conference for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Lupoi gave a tongue-in-cheek response to the media about his predicament in the new CFB transfer portal era.
“Yeah it’s been awesome,” Lupoi said. “A great time to have the portal open right now. Makes a lot of sense.” Lupoi continued, revealing his “three-and-a-half hours of sleep,” as he refuses to let down his Oregon and Cal family.
Although tonight’s loss will result in some bitter emotion, Lupoi can look ahead to full rest and quality family time in the coming weeks.
Now, Lupoi is tasked with recruiting the talent that will change the culture of his locker room in Berkeley. Cal has already done significant work in the portal, currently sitting at No. 7 in the 2026 transfer portal rankings on 247Sports.
Lupoi has already revamped Cal’s offense, bringing in four-star commits like WR Ian Strong and Chase Hendricks, and TE Dorian Thomas, along with a scary running back trio to complement returning five-star QB, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.
Next on his itinerary, Lupoi must fortify a wall of muscle to protect his quarterback who received two Manning Quarterback of the Week selections this season, finishing the year with Freshman All-America Honors.
Lupoi must also work with his new assistant coaches to reel in a defense that lost key players like Cade Uluave and Luke Ferelli to the portal, and Hezekiah Masses to the NFL Draft.