It’s a meeting of Big Ten schools in the second College Football Playoff Semi-Finals game on Friday Night in the Peach Bowl. While the Big Ten is a conference loaded with football blue bloods and National Championship winners, neither of these teams has been able to hoist the College Football National Championship Trophy, at least not yet. One of them will punch their ticket to the big game with a victory on Friday night. Let’s take a look at and make our picks for this College Football Playoff Semifinals game between the Oregon Ducks and Indiana Hoosiers.
The Oregon Ducks completed a 13-1 regular season, going 8-1 in the Big Ten. Their only loss came back on October 11th at home in Eugene when they fell to this very Indiana Hoosier team. The loss kept them out of the Big Ten Championship game, but they earned the #5 seed in these College Football Playoffs. The first round brought the James Madison Dukes to town, a game Oregon dominated 51-34. In the second round, they faced a Red Raider offense that had been dominant, and blanked Texas Tech 23-0 in the Orange Bowl.
Indiana completed their perfect 14-0 regular season, going 9-0 in Big Ten play. They slayed the giant in the Big Ten Championship game, taking down the Ohio State Buckeyes. After a first round, Curt Cignetti and the boys faced an Alabama team that was coming off a big win over Oklahoma. That was no problem for Indiana, which dismantled the Tide 38-3 in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
College Football Playoff Semifinals Picks: Oregon vs Indiana (Peach Bowl)
Fernando Mendoza Over 23.5 Rushing Yards (-114)
No matter which way you see this game going, one thing we know about the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and likely number one pick in the NFL Draft is that he’s a baller. He’s not going to go down easy, and he’s going to leave it all on the field. Last week against the Crimson Tide, he didn’t need to run all that much thanks to the Hoosiers’ big lead, but he still reeled off 16 yards.
Mendoza went over this total in six games this season, including grabbing 31 yards on the ground against the Oregon Ducks back on October 11th. Mendoza needs to use his legs in this type of game, and I expect him to do just that.
Malik Benson Over 43.5 Receiving Yards (-114)
Malik Benson has been a stud wide receiver for the Oregon Ducks all season long, but he’s been especially good down the stretch. Last week against Texas Tech, he caught five passes for 51 yards. In their two previous games against James Madison and Washington, Benson racked up 119 and 102 yards, respectively. When he played the Hoosiers earlier this year, they kept him in check except for one play, where he burned them for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Malik Benson is an interesting potential draft prospect at WR.
Lack of consistent production over career will be talking point, but his elite athleticism & skillset can’t be ignored!
Has played his best football when Oregon needed it this season 📈pic.twitter.com/22icibWZg9
— JD (@CommanderJD5) January 1, 2026
Oregon Ducks +3.5 (+100)
It’s been heartbreak after heartbreak for the Oregon Ducks each season. They have a great year, get this far, and then fall flat on their face. That’s what everyone is expecting again this weekend. Indiana to keep the perfect run going, and lay waste to Dan Lanning’s Ducks. As the great Lee Corso would say, “not so fast, my friends.” We’ve already seen plenty of times this year how hard it is to beat a team twice. Yes, the score was a 10-point difference back in October, but we all know the game was much closer than that until a late-game turnover.
Oregon has revenge on its mind in this one. If they can execute perfectly, they can be the better team in this game, and if nothing else, keep it close and make it a late field goal loss to cover this spread. This Duck’s offense is explosive behind the leadership of Dante Moore. And their defense just proved against the Texas Tech Red Raiders that they can shut down the best of the best. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and the Ducks will do that on Friday.
