{"id":447,"date":"2026-01-10T17:13:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T23:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wdepradio.com\/?p=447"},"modified":"2026-04-09T14:36:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:36:31","slug":"college-football-grades-indiana-earns-a-mark-for-dominance-oregon-gets-f-on-cfp-semifinal-report-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wdepradio.com\/?p=447","title":{"rendered":"College football grades: Indiana earns ‘A+’ mark for dominance, Oregon gets ‘F’ on CFP semifinal report card"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

No. 1 seed Indiana<\/a> is emerging from the College Football Playoff semifinals looking like one of the most dominant teams of the modern era and a potentially inevitable national champion. However, No. 10 seed Miami<\/a> will have something to say about it on Jan. 19 inside Hard Rock Stadium, when the teams collide with a national championship on the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hurricanes rattled off their third straight CFP win over a higher-seeded opponent on Thursday night with a 31-27 Fiesta Bowl win over No. 6 seed Ole Miss<\/a>. It wasn’t a perfect performance from the ‘Canes, but it brought out the best in sixth-year senior quarterback Carson Beck<\/a> and the Miami offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will take a complete effort from all units for Miami to contend with the Hoosiers, who obliterated No. 5 seed Oregon<\/a> 56-22 in Friday night’s Peach Bowl. The Hoosiers have now won 10 of their 15 games by 24 or more points, including 30+ point victories over Alabama<\/a> and the Ducks in the CFP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

IU refuses to beat itself and then punishes opponents for miscues. That was the story against the Ducks, who committed three costly turnovers while turning in a dud of a performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against that backdrop, here are the grades for the four CFP semifinal competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"team<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No. 1 seed Indiana<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Grade:<\/strong>\u00a0A+
Result:<\/strong>\u00a056-22 win vs. No. 5 seed Oregon
What Indiana did to Alabama and Oregon in back-to-back games — beginning its CFP run with an average victory margin of 34.5 points — would be stunning even if it were a program with the brand cache of\u00a0Georgia\u00a0or\u00a0Ohio State. In just two years, Curt Cignetti has developed the Hoosiers from a doormat to become as overpowering as any recent title-winning team. A 3-0 edge in the turnover battle, along with 10 tackles for loss, helped tell the story against the Ducks. So did a 17-for-20 passing performance from Heisman Trophy winner\u00a0Fernando Mendoza<\/a>, who tossed five touchdowns to bring his season tally to 41.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"team<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No. 5 seed Oregon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Grade:<\/strong>\u00a0F
Result<\/strong>: 56-22 loss vs. No. 1 seed Indiana
Oregon collapsed under the weight of three devastating first-half turnovers that left it in a 35-7 halftime hole. The Ducks’ misery began with a pick-6 on the first play from scrimmage to start a nightmare showing for quarterback\u00a0Dante Moore<\/a>. The redshirt sophomore also fumbled deep in Oregon territory twice in the second quarter to essentially hand the Hoosiers a pair of touchdowns. It was an absolute nightmare for a Ducks team that failed miserably in its quest to redeem a regular-season loss against Indiana. The defense sacked IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza just once and struggled mightily in the red zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"team<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No. 6 seed Ole Miss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Grade:<\/strong>\u00a0A-
Result:<\/strong>\u00a031-27 loss vs. No. 10 seed Miami
Ole Miss struggled out of the gate offensively with a pair of three-and-outs and didn’t convert on a third down until the fourth quarter. The result was five drives ending in field goal attempts and a lackluster time of possession. Defensively, the Rebels did an admirable job of bending without breaking until the final seven minutes. That’s when Miami finally broke the dam with a pair of long touchdown drives against a fatiguing Ole Miss group. It was still a gutsy effort from the Rebels, who stayed in it until the end and represented themselves well in concluding a wild and historic season with a heartbreaking defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"team<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No. 10 seed Miami<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Grade:<\/strong>\u00a0A-
Result:<\/strong>\u00a031-27 win vs. No. 6 seed Ole Miss
Miami’s offense is somewhat surprisingly the unit carrying this grade after the Hurricanes dominated time of possession and then broke Ole Miss with two late 75-yard touchdown drives. Quarterback Carson Beck rewrote his collegiate legacy by capping those possessions with a touchdown pass and then a decisive 3-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left. He also got tons of help from receivers\u00a0Malachi Toney<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Keelan Marion<\/a>, running back\u00a0Mark Fletcher Jr<\/a>., and a strong offensive line. The grade isn’t a clean “A” because Miami committed 10 costly penalties and was less disruptive than usual on defense. Even after a big win, there were plenty of coaching points for Mario Cristobal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No. 1 seed Indiana is emerging from the College Football Playoff semifinals looking like one of the most dominant teams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,166],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nCollege football grades: Indiana earns 'A+' mark for dominance, Oregon gets 'F' on CFP semifinal report card - WDEP Radio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wdepradio.com\/?p=447\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"College football grades: Indiana earns 'A+' mark for dominance, Oregon gets 'F' on CFP semifinal report card - 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