As he readies for a rematch with Indiana in the College Football Playoff semifinals, Oregon coach Dan Lanning didn’t want to get into specifics about how his team has grown since the Ducks’ regular-season loss at home to the Hoosiers three months ago.
No. 1 Indiana (14-0) will find out firsthand Friday night, which is when the Big Ten rivals meet again, this time in the Peach Bowl at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. At stake for the Hoosiers and No. 5 Oregon (13-1) this time is a spot in the national championship that will take place Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
“I won’t go in every detail, but both these teams, neither one of us are the same team that you saw earlier in the season when we played each other,” Lanning said Saturday during a conference call with Indiana coach Curt Cignetti and members of the media.
“I think we’ve grown in a lot of different ways, found different strengths. As your team changes, you change, you adapt to your strengths of your team. And you see the same thing with Indiana.”
Indiana, ranked No. 7 at the time, beat then-No. 3 Oregon 30-20 in Eugene on Oct. 11. Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw for 215 yards and a key fourth-quarter touchdown in what turned out to be a run to the Heisman Trophy — he became Indiana’s first winner of the prestigious individual honor last month — and Roman Hemby added a pair of scoring runs for Indiana.