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He also needs more time in the pocket ... Mendoza time, for instance. I hope DL gets some big meanies from the portal and commits for that O-line. This year's version was a little lacking.

Indiana has a great college defense, but it is not the defense Dante will see in the NFL. He needs at least one more year to develop before going to the next level.

I understand why even devoted fans feel that they need to take a break, that it is too emotionally exhausting to deal with repeated disappointment. I deal with disappointment by attempting to analyze what happened. Those who just want to flush it can stop reading here. So, what happened and why? IU was given three touchdowns in the first half. Once they had that large a lead, they could play the game on their terms. If they had not been given those gifts, what would have happened? Joel Klatt's analysis seems right in retrospect. One key to victory was winning on first down. Oregon was winning on first down on both sides of the ball early in the game. On offense, the Ducks had manageable third down conversions, and Stein had appropriate plays to accomplish that. On defense, the Ducks brought in Wyatt as a speed rusher on third and long he had immediately created havoc. If that could have been sustained, we had a good chance of success. Dante responded fairly well after the first interception. My recollection is that the miscue with the running back was the backbreaker. Did this result from the running back injuries, or because Stein was exhausted by multi-tasking? Was it just random bad luck? Was it simply the Hoosiers' year? There is much more to be said, but those are some preliminary thoughts.

If Mendoza plays like he did the last two games, Miami has no chance IMO.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that he has only started 20 games in college. He has all the talent in the world, but just needs to get a little better at seeing the field at times. He will get there with more experience, just like Bo or Mendoza did. If his goal is to play football in the NFL for a longtime, he should stay one more year.

I’m okay. I have seen a lot of bad Oregon football in my 52 years. This is still a good team. They just made a lot of mistakes in a game where you needed to be close to perfect to win. Indiana plays so clean and disciplined. Mendoza was almost perfect. Hats off to them and I hope they beat the brakes off of Miami. We will get them next year.

Really tough loss. I moved to Oregon in 1975. Was mildly interested in the Ducks in the dreadful Don Read era. Became more of a fan when Rich Brooks became coach. I went to school with Mike Bellotti at UC Davis. Though I know live in Colorado, I avidly follow the Ducks. I would give Will Stein and A’lique Terry ‘Fs’ for their preparation. Terry saw how Indiana attacked the line in Eugene, yet the line couldn’t deal with it. I think Will Stein’s scheme has become too predictable. Still a fan.

Mostly I feel bad for the Duck players. Losing is part of competition just as winning is. But, even while shorthanded at several key positions, the team just didn't make it as competitive a game as it could have. I hope the players who return use that loss, that miserable feeling in the pit of their stomach, that silence in the locker room after the game, as a motivator. That can be powerful driver for them in their next game, their next season, and in their future lives.

Having sat in Autzen in the late sixties and seventies there is no way I would complain about this. Go Ducks.

Jay, if you read this, Thank you for being a bright spot when the team was in a bind. Please reconsider.

I think it would be foolish to forego another season. He definitely needs a little more polish.

There was another thread about this, but it’s locked and I know last night’s game will revive this subject. In my opinion he needs more time as a starter. It’s not just the game reps, but the practice reps and game prep (film study, meetings, etc.). The mentality is different between the backups and the starter. Below is the first play from last night’s game. He obviously had it pre-determined in his mind who he was going to throw to. Had he read the defense he would’ve noticed #5 sitting on the short route with a safety over the top and moved to his next progression. He would’ve seen JMac breaking free from a blown coverage and hit him for a score. Indiana has a great defense, but NFL defenses are much faster. Good NFL QB’s don’t guess where the open receiver is going to be. They read the defense and process their movement and start their throws before the receiver breaks open.

Real Fan. Though I must admit that when we fumbled the ball five times against the doormat Indiana team of yesteryear, I was apoplectic while leaving Autzen, and was calling for MB's job(LOL)!

It literally took me until the Oklahoma St game to put the Ohio St game behind me. I got back on board only for us to get humiliated even worse again... I have absolutely no faith in the upcoming season with the promotion within coaches. Oregon needs an overhaul with assistants and scheme

Indiana is continuing the trend, their next QB is Hoover from TCU. Source: X https://share.google/u6RuhqsXj7BLXqt8j

Earlier in the season, I thought he ran much tougher than Limar. Best wishes to him for sticking it out to the end of the season.

I'm not demoralized. In the past, I knew that Oregon was at its ceiling and could not get better enough to beat the real contenders. But now, I see a machine that just needs to tweak what kind of players it wants to bring in. And also what kind of coordinators they need as well. It will take time. This year, they went out to the portal to find a new O line. It mostly did not work out vs the best defenses. And the D line is not getting QB pressure like it should. Upgrade those positions and then they can compete much better. A bandwagon fan looks for new gear to buy while trading teams. A real fan rides it out. What is most sad is that this year could have been it. Without the mistakes, the Ducks could have kept it fairly close and maybe got lucky in the end.

Stars by a name mean nothing compared to quality experience in years

Oregon has more 4 star and 5 star players, more accolades, more of this and that. But what did you see? I saw Indiana linemen who were leaner, faster and more aggressive than Oregon linemen. I saw an Indiana QB who could run for big gains while Dante just lowered his head and got sacked and on another play, barely got touched and went down. When you play good teams in important games, those kinds of things get highlighted. Another year and some new players, so we are not doomed forever. Dan Lanning will see this and make corrections. I hope. On the plus side, Oregon does have a lot of good and capable players. RBs, TEs, WRs, DBs are all good. Get more athletic as a team and the problems are mostly solved. Recruiting is getting better and better. We are not there yet, but getting closer and closer. Ducks have been beating all but the top talent that makes it to the finals. They just have to get a little bit better. So when you look at recruits on sites like Duck Territory, don't just look at the number of stars or who offered them. Also take a look at their pics in uniform and their highlights. I think that will give you a better idea of what kind of player they are. Your eyes do not lie to you. I think the future is very bright because of who they are bringing in, despite this disappointing game. Part of the reason why Chip Kelly was so successful at Oregon was that he had athletes at QB, O line, D line, edge, and linebacker. Oregon had to get bigger, but now they need to get back to being more athletic. I think we will see that soon. Starting with Nasir Wyatt. When he is on the field, things happen. So Duck fans, I say the glass is half full, not half empty. Actually more than half full. The rest of the liquid to fill the glass to the top is in the recruiting classes and the portal. I can feel it.

Why pay a guy to sit on your bench, when he'll just demand more money after you've developed him? You get proven guys that weren't highly touted, but they proved themselves to be above that. That's what Cignetti has done. Fernando Mendoza or Nico Iamaleava were miles apart in hype. Mendoza got a couple million from Indiana, which was a raise. Iamaleava was making 2.4 and left Tennessee because he wanted that doubled.

Cignetti and his staff definitely have an eye for talent. But, so do Dan Lanning and his staff. The NC is not a destination. It’s a journey. It will be a journey next year for Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, Indiana and 130 other teams,

While true they have no high school 5 stars, this isn’t homegrown, farm boy talent they magically developed. They’re loaded with highly desired transfers that were developed by other schools, with a lot of experience…and a QB that wildly exceeded expectations. Hats off to them for putting the pieces together, but these are not scrubs or anything. Check out their 2025 list, a lot of .85+ rated dudes from big programs. https://247sports.com/college/indiana/season/2025-football/transferportal/?institutionkey=24040

And Indiana has “zero 5 stars”. With the Wild West of the portal, the high school ratings start to become less and less impactful I think. How many of USCs mega 2026 class will still be there in a year or two if they go 9-3 next year? Means nearly nothing to get em if you don’t keep em…very few true frosh really move the needle.

You could really tell Mendoza wants a shot at the U

Harris definitely earned Player of the Game for the Ducks. He never quit on his teammates, and was certainly not the reason the Ducks lost.