One of the marquee matchups of Week 7 on the college football slate pits Oregon football against Indiana in a top-10 battle. Both squads were in the College Football Playoff a season ago and have already proven their mettle in 2025.
Oregon got a win on the road against Penn State in the White Out in Happy Valley, surviving a late rally to get a 30-24 win in double overtime. Indiana had the luxury of playing Illinois on its home field, but still blew the Illini off the field in a 63-10 rout that proved 2024 was no fluke for the Hoosiers.
These are two very well-rounded teams with great units on both sides of the ball and two of the best coaches in the game in Curt Cignetti and Dan Lanning. Both defenses are elite, but it's the two starting quarterbacks that have emerged and made a name for themselves so far this fall.
Many of the perceived top quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft class have gotten off to poor starts this season. LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers and Penn State's Drew Allar, to name a few, have all struggled, leaving a void at the top of the draft.
Oregon QB Dante Moore and Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza have both emerged this season as potential top picks with great seasons, and now they will share a field on Saturday afternoon in Eugene. Here's why NFL teams all over the league will have their eyes on the signal callers in this blockbuster contest.
Fernando Mendoza is a prototypical NFL pocket passer
Mendoza has always been a talented passer, but he spent his first two seasons in the shadows on some average Cal teams. Now, he is playing for one of the prominent teams and coaches in college football, and he has not disappointed in his first season in Bloomington.
Mendoza is tied for second in the nation with 16 touchdown passes, trailing just Sawyer Robertson of Baylor. He has thrown just one interception in that time, showing off his ability to generate explosive plays for his offense without putting the ball in harm's way.
Mendoza isn't going to wow anybody as an athlete, but he is a big, prototypical passer. He is listed at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds and stands tall in the pocket consistently, which NFL teams will love.
As a pure passer, it's hard not to love the accuracy and touch that Mendoza displays from the pocket. It's easy to see him plugging into a pro system and being able to distribute the ball at a competent level. He also does not hesitate to push the ball down the field, which helps this Indiana offense be pretty explosive.
While Mendoza does like to hang in the pocket and make plays down the field, he does take too many sacks as result of waiting for some of those plays to develop. He is a good pocket manager, but he could benefit from taking his medicine and keeping the offense on schedule at times. That will be tested quite a bit on Saturday against a very good Oregon front that will be able to apply pressure.
While the holding onto the ball is an issue, everything else about Mendoza as a passer is quick. He has a fast release and is a strong processor in the dropback game, two things that will help him stay near the top of draft boards throughout the process.
Dante Moore's elite arm talent will enthrall NFL teams
While Mendoza is a top prospect because of his polish as a passer, Moore is up there because it's hard to find a more physically gifted thrower of the football in the country. The UCLA transfer has arm talent for days, and that has been on display through the Ducks' first five games of the season.
Moore is much more raw as a processor and a quarterback as a whole than Mendoza is, but he is also much less experienced. After a mess of a true freshman season at UCLA in 2023, Moore came to Eugene to back up Dillon Gabriel in 2024 before taking over as the starter this season. He has not disappointed, tossing 14 touchdowns to just one interception in 2025.
Moore is able to fit the ball into tight windows with his excellent arm strength and velocity on the ball, something that NFL teams will fall in love with over the course of the rest of the season and the draft process. Oregon's offense doesn't ask him to do a lot of work in the pure dropback game, but he has shown the ability to be productive in that setting so far when asked to be.
The Detroit native is a good athlete, but the Ducks' win over Penn State showed how he can use that functionally. He made some plays outside the pocket with his arm and hit one big chunk play down the right sideline to Dakorien Moore in the second half. Offensive coordinator Will Stein also used Moore as a designed runner in some short-yardage situations, something that he hasn't been asked to do much during his career.
Moore has done a good job not putting the ball in harm's way this season, though the offense helps restrict that tendency. If he can keep that up, teams will continue to think highly of him.
He will face another tough test against an athletic Indiana defense that gave Luke Altmyer fits a few weeks ago, but Moore will not have to deal with the same hostile crowd that he did in Happy Valley. If he puts up another big performance, the Heisman Trophy and NFL Draft buzz around the former five-star recruit will hit a fever pitch.
