The No. 3 ranked Ducks (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) return to Autzen Stadium where their young roster will be tested against a top 10 that has combined with Oregon for one regular season loss since the beginning of last season — the fewest of any two teams in the Big Ten.

The No. 7 Indiana Hoosiers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) will be in town looking to prove they are the best team in the conference.

This will be the Ducks’ first home game since becoming the team with the longest active home winning streak in college football with 18 games since 2022. Oregon took over the streak following losses by the previous top two (Georgia – 34 games unbeaten and Washington – 22) in Week 5. 

This will also be the first AP top ten matchup at Autzen Stadium since almost exactly a year ago when No. 3 Oregon defeated No. 2 Ohio State 32-31 on Oct. 12, 2024. Just like that Saturday, ESPN’s “College Gameday” will be hosted on Oregon’s campus the morning of the game. 

The Hoosiers will certainly be putting that streak to the test when they take the field on Saturday. Their success has been driven by head coach Curt Cignetti, who is in his second year with the team and holds a 16-2 record.

His first Division I job was at Elon University starting in 2017, followed by James Madison University in 2019 before arriving in Bloomington ahead of the 2024 season. Cignetti has never had a losing season with any of the programs he’s coached.

Cignetti has turned to a  major offensive force this year in redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Before coming to Indiana in the offseason, Mendoza started 19 games at Cal. He was a part of back-to-back 6-win seasons, which sent the Golden Bears to bowl games for the first time since 2019. In his first five starts as a Hoosier, Mendoza has thrown 89 for 122 for 1,208 yards with 16 touchdowns and just one interception. He has also rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.

Mendoza made his first appearance at Autzen Stadium in 2023, when he went 18/34 passing for 177 yards in Cal’s 63-19 loss to the heavily favored Ducks. Since then, he has grown into one of the top quarterbacks in college football.

Indiana has already passed two major tests in each of its first games in Big Ten play. Three weeks ago, it put up 63 points in a win against No. 9 Illinois. Mendoza threw for five touchdowns in the game. The following week, the Hoosiers faced a tightly contested game in a tough on the road environment against Iowa and survived with a 20-15 win.

Mendoza’s primary targets have been wide receivers Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt, who have combined for 820 yards and 12 touchdowns on 53 receptions. The Hoosiers have also relied on their run game, which similar to Oregon, has tremendous depth. Running backs Roman Hemby, Kaelon Black, Khobie Martin and Lee Beebe Jr. have all seen plenty of action. They have combined for 172 carries for 1,126 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

After coming out of Happy Valley with a win, it can be easy for Oregon fans to overlook the other teams on the schedule, but Indiana has the No. 7 ranking next to its name for a reason. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has preached “strength in numbers” all season, but it could very well be Indiana’s depth on offense that stumps the Ducks. 

“(The Hoosiers) do a lot of things well,” Lanning said. “How they play to their players’ strengths. Their quarterback is playing as good as anybody, they’re extremely well coached on both sides of the ball, they create a lot of havoc on defense, and ultimately, that’s what we’re counting on our fans to be a part of what makes this environment great.”