It may have been a bit of a laugher to close out the first-round slate of games in the College Football Playoff, but Curt Cignetti had to like what he saw transpire over in Eugene. Yes, his former team in the James Madison Dukes gave up over 50 points and lost to the Oregon Ducks 51-34, but they were the No. 12 seed playing on the road. They were not supposed to make this a game, and they still covered.
So while JMU's season ends, Indiana's is really just beginning. While they may not even get to face the Ducks in a rematch, Oregon is still on the Hoosiers' side of the bracket. If they win their national quarterfinals, No. 1 Indiana will take on No. 5 Oregon in the Peach Bowl over in Atlanta. Indiana still has to beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Oregon also still needs to knock off Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl.
Even though the Hoosiers got the far worse matchup between Alabama and Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, what Cignetti and his staff saw out of Oregon should have Indiana licking its collective chops. Oregon got out to a big lead before slowly letting JMU back into it. This suggests that Dan Lanning losing both of his coordinators of note to other Power Four jobs may come back to haunt the Ducks.
Oregon has the talent to win the College Football Playoff, but it is nowhere near as steady as Indiana...
Indiana may not have to view Oregon as a serious playoff threat any more
This was one of those games where you have to ask yourself if you were really paying close attention. Oh, no doubt. Oregon looked like a behemoth against a team it was undeniably better than. The Ducks are front-runners, meaning when they have a lead they are not likely to relinquish it. While their road win over Iowa showed us so much about their mental toughness, what if it hits the fan for them?
Simply put, the Ducks cannot play like they did on defense vs. Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl and get away with it. Truth be told, they just may be able to score more points than the Red Raiders can shake a smoking barrel at. However, they are not going to be able to move the ball at will on Shiel Wood's defense. Jacob Rodriguez, Ben Roberts, and others will be ready to wreak havoc for the Red Raiders.
Overall, Indiana should be grateful to be on its side of the bracket. After all, the Hoosiers will not have to beat Georgia and Ohio State in succession. They might only get to face one of them... In the end, Alabama's offense is too one-sided to win a national championship this year. Texas Tech has never been to the playoff before. As for Oregon, they may pose the biggest threat to Indiana, but not really...
Oregon has the talent to beat anyone, but it is not as even-keeled as it should be under Lanning now.