Beaming big following the “White Out” victory, No. 3 Oregon’s Dan Lanning stares down at a heated matchup against Curt Cignetti’s No. 7 Indiana Hoosiers on the home turf. Both programs are going undefeated into the season. As Urban Meyer calls it, it is going to be “a pretty good street fight.” With that, the former Buckeyes coach gives his verdict regarding the upcoming clash at Eugene.

For Meyer, the Ducks are one of the best teams in college football, along with the Buckeyes. And in lieu of his favorite program, he has given his verdict in favor of  Oregon. In his opinion, it is going to go “little closer than eight and a half. I bet it comes down to seven and a half in the next couple days.” 

The Ducks have played two national championship games over the years, one against Auburn and another with the OSU, as Meyer recalls on the Triple Option podcast. “And they never had the line in the trenches. They always had great skill,” he recalled; A reference, reeling back to 2011, when Auburn beat the Ducks. But now? As Meyer puts it, they have got that offensive line, and he is picking the Ducks to emerge victorious, with College Game Day witnessing it live.

However, Indiana is not far behind. “Indiana has also matched them in the offensive line. We watched them, me, and Jerry DiNardo this weekend. Really close,” he continued. “They’re not as athletic as Oregon, but they’re big.” Oregon has a robust offense under Dante Moore, but both teams share a common weakness: getting off the field on third down. That’s something to keep an eye on this week. Fernando Mendoza is making some noise already. Touted as the No. 1 NFL pick by CBS Sports’ Mike Renner, he has chipped in 16 touchdowns, with just one interception for 1,208 yards and a QB rating of 81.8.

Presently, IU’s offense ranks No. 5 in the country, with an average of 538.2 yards per game. Add on to that, Cignetti has two of its running backs among the top 100 nationally, with the rushing attacks ranked No. 5 nationally. While Eugene sits at No. 11, you cannot ignore the Ducks’ stacked RB room, boasting Noah Whittington, Dierre Hill, Jayden Limar, and Jordan Davison. Presently, odds are in favor of Oregon, but the Hoosiers will enter Autzen Stadium as the underdogs.

Bottom line: It’s going to be a close call. The reason? “IU doesn’t make mistakes,” As Meyer stated. “They tackle you. They keep the ball in front of you on defense. They don’t turn the ball over, and they move the chain.”

Meyer is not the only one picking Dan Lanning’s boys to dominate the trenches.

Greg McElroy picks Oregon to win

After defeating Penn State, the Ducks were grinning from ear to ear. But soon enough, it felt like the punching bag came right swinging and landed right back at your face. Oregon did not play last weekend, but Drew Allar’s loss to the 0-4 UCLA Bruins flipped the script. Penn State’ rank took a hit, so did the Ducks. But regardless of the rank, Eugene is going strong. Greg McElroy has picked Oregon to win this weekend.

“I’m going to take Oregon in this game, but I think it’s going to be close,” he said. “I’ll take the points. I think this has a chance to be a very high-scoring game. I like both offenses an awful lot.” In the recent Big Ten Power rankings, the Buckeyes top the charts, but Oregon and Indiana are hot on their heels at the No. 2 and No. 3rd positions respectively, with a 5-0 record.

ESPN’s Football Power Index tells a similar tale. Over the last five games, it has astutely predicted the wins of both the 5-0 squads. For the coming weekend, it pegs Oregon, pulling off a 69.5% chance to emerge victorious, with the Hooisers having a 30.5% chance.