No. 8 Indiana vs No. 3 Oregon expert panel prediction: team overviews, key players and stats

No. 3 Oregon will take on No. 8. Indiana at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11th in Autzen Stadium in a showdown of undefeated teams.

This heavyweight bout has Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff implications as both teams are 5-0, ranked in the top ten of the Coaches and AP Polls respectively.

I was able to breakdown the game with some of the brightest minds around that cover the game of college football with a panel including Bill Carroll, "Fanatic Dak" Daekota and Sam Fariss.

I spoke in detail withWilliam "Bill" Carroll the Director of HBCU Scouting and Team NBS Media member who has been covering the game of football for over 25 years. Here is his breakdown of what will happen in the Indiana vs Oregon game on Saturday afternoon:

"I have gone on record as stating that the most balanced and complete team in the FBS are the Oregon Ducks."

By way of contrast, the Hoosiers are like the old TV Show "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" A collection of reclamation projects, the overlooked and the underrated. They bring 19 transfer players of the 19 transfer players, all arrived from the FBS level, with 11 from Power 4 programs and eight from Group of Five teams. Eleven of the transfers come on the offensive side of the football, six are on the defensive side of the ball and two are specialists. This group of newcomers is a significant part of their recruiting efforts for the 2025 season. 

The most prominent one of the 19 will be familiar to Oregon. QB Fernando Mendoza is an intelligent, accurate quarterback with growing pocket presence, reliable accuracy on short-medium throws, and rapid decision-making. He showed inconsistencies on his deep-ball accuracy and slight reliance on arm over anticipation and mechanics. His toughness, quick release, and ability to process information make him a promising prospect, particularly for teams in need of a poised pocket passer who can exploit the blitz and operate an RPO system effectively.

Much of what I just said could also be applied to Dante Moore. Moore is still a bit on the slender side and he reminds me of a mix of [a less athletic] version of young Randall Cunningham and former Stanford QB Chris Lewis. At his best he looks like the top QB in the class, when he gets sloppy, he looks like a player who can stare down receivers and miss easy throws.

On defense if Indiana wants to keep this close they'll need  Isaiah Jones and Tyrique Tucker to have great games and JMU transfer, Aiden Fisher will need to channel Luke Keuchly. I think IU keeps it close until about 8 minutes in to the 4th quarter and then the Ducks pull away. I think 42-23 will be the final score, Oregon win a shootout.

Fanatic Dak's of "Orange and Blue Network" and "Broncos Bros" take on Oregon's biggest home game of the season:

I'm excited for this BIG 10 matchup on Saturday at 12:30 at Autzen Stadium.

Both teams are coming into the matchup ranked #3 Oregon Ducks hosts #7 Indiana Hoosiers both come into this matchup (5-0 and 2-0) in the BIG 10. Now I know the storylines may circle around both teams talented and Heisman candidates QBs in Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Oregon's Dante Moore and their talented offenses.

"As a fan of both teams I think this game ultimately comes down to who has the edge in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball. I feel Oregon has the slight advantage with their depth with their front 7. I also like Oregon's OL to hold up against Indiana's DL."

Oregon's OC Will Stein may look to get the ball out of QB Dante Moore's hand rather quickly to help keep Indiana's front 7 at bay. Oregon has a signature win already against Penn St on the road in the "White Out". While Indiana's signature win to this point, you make the argument whether it was ILLINOIS or IOWA. The Oregon Ducks are -7.5 favorites at home with the over/under being set at 55.5. I really like the home team, so give me the Ducks at home to win this matchup 31-21.

Last not least on our panel is our own homegrown talent Sam Fariss. Fariss is a staff writer for our NCAA team. She attended the University of Oregon and has covered college football and other collegiate sports for six years now.

Here is Fariss' breakdown of what Oregon and Indiana may look like on Saturday:

I think it's a QB battle but the key differences will come at the line of scrimmage itself. Oregon's offensive line outweighs the Hoosiers defensive line by an average of 46 pounds and should be able to easily contain Indiana's pass rush.

Oregon's diverse rushing attack should keep the backfield busy and I don't think Indiana will be able to keep up.

Plus it's suppose to rain all game which will benefit the Ducks a lot more than the Hoosiers.

I think Oregon wins big 38-21.

ESPN's FPI gives Oregon a 69.5 percent chance of winning in Autzen Stadium on Saturday, meaning Indiana has a 30.5 percent chance of pulling off the upset this weekend.