After examining Ole Miss vs. Miami on Monday, today we peak under the hood at the starting lineups for the other College Football Playoff semifinal: Indiana vs. Oregon.
As expected, Hoosiers-Ducks will be a study in extremes.
Oregon is the fifth-most talented team in the nation per the 247Sports Team Talent Composite, with six 5-stars and 52 4-stars on their roster. The starting lineup features two of those six 5-stars, eight top-100 recruits and -- gasp -- two true freshmen. In fact, Oregon starts more players in their first, second or third years of college football (13) than fourth, fifth, or sixth year players (nine). More of their starters signed with Oregon than didn't.
In short, Oregon looks like a team that would've made the Final Four in the recent past, which of course makes sense given their history. In fact, it shocked the senses to be reminded Oregon hasn't been this far since playing for the title in the 2014 season.
(One note: Neither team publishes a depth chart, so these lineups were pieced together off of TV copies and statistics.)
OREGON
4+ year players: 9
Transfers: 9
5-stars: 2
Top 100 recruits: 8
Ducks starters by signing class:
2025: 2
2024: 3
2023: 8
2022: 2
2021: 5
2020: 2
Offense
Quarterback
Dante Moore: 5-star, signed with UCLA; 19 career starts
Running Back
Noah Whittington: 3-star, signed with Western Kentucky; sixth-year player
Wide Receiver
Malik Benson: fifth-year player who started in juco; Oregon is his fourth school
Jeremiah McClellan: 4-star, top 100 recruit
Dakorien Moore: 5-star; true freshman
Tight End
Kenyon Sadiq: 4-star
Offensive Line (L-to-R)
Isaiah World: 3-star, signed with Nevada; fifth-year player
Emmanuel Pregnon: unrated recruit, signed with Wyoming; sixth-year player on his third school
Iapani Laloulu: 4-star
Dave Iuli: 4-star, fourth-year player
Alex Harkey: fifth-year player who started in juco; Oregon is his fourth school
Defense
Defensive Line
Matayo Uiagalelei: 4-star, top 100 recruit
Bear Alexander: 4-star, top 50 recruit; Oregon is his third school
A'Mauri Washington: 4-star
Teitum Tuioti: 3-star
Linebacker
Bryce Boettcher: walk-on who was drafted by MLB; did not join football team until 2022
Jerry Mixon: 3-star
Defensive Backs
Brandon Finney, Jr.: 4-star, top 50 recruit; true freshman
Aaron Flowers: 4-star, top 50 recruit
Dillon Thieneman: 3-star, signed with Purdue
Jadon Canady: 3-star, signed with Tulane; fifth-year player
Ify Obidegwu: 4-star, top 50 recruit
And then there is, of course, Indiana. Far more similar to Ole Miss and Miami, except on the extreme end of the scale. The closest thing IU has to a prize recruit is wideout Omar Cooper, Jr., whom 247 rated as 299th-best player in the class of 2022. That's looking backward. Looking forward, IU has the Heisman Trophy winner and a possible No. 1 draft pick at quarterback. The NFL will love to get its hands on many of these players, particularly along the lines of scrimmage.
Sixteen of IU's 22 starters are in their fourth, fifth or sixth year of college football, and 13 signed somewhere other than Indiana. (We're including stud passer rusher Stephen Daley among the starters.) Right tackle Adedamola Ajani might be the ultimate unicorn among the CFP semifinalists; he's two or three years younger than every other Indiana offensive lineman.
INDIANA
4+ year players: 16
Transfers: 13
Top 100 recruits: 0
Top 200 recruits: 0
Top 300 recruits: 1 (barely)
Hoosiers starters by signing class
2025: 0
2024: 4
2023: 2
2022: 9
2021: 4
2020: 3
Offense
Quarterback
Fernando Mendoza: 2-star, signed with Cal in 2022; 33 career starts
Running Back
Roman Hemby: 3-star, signed with Maryland in 2021
Wide Receiver
Omar Cooper, Jr.: 4-star, signed with Indiana in 2022
Charlie Becker: 3-star, signed with Indiana in 2024
Elijah Sarratt: unrated recruit, signed with Saint Francis (Pa.) in 2022
Tight End
Riley Nowakowski: unrated recruit, signed with Wisconsin in 2020
Offensive Line (L-to-R)
Carter Smith: 3-star, signed with Indiana in 2022
Drew Evans: unrated recruit, signed with Wisconsin in 2022
Pat Coogan: 3-star, signed with Notre Dame in 2021
Bray Lynch: 3-star, signed with Indiana in 2022
Adedamola Ajani: 3-star, signed with Indiana in 2024
Defense
Defensive Line
Makail Kamara: unrated recruit, signed with James Madison in 2020
Mario Landino: 3-star, signed with Indiana in 2024
Hosea Wheeler: unrated recruited, signed with Sacramento City College in 2021; played three seasons at WKU
Stephen Daley: 3-star, signed with Kent State as a tight end in 2022
Linebackers
Aiden Fischer: unrated recruit, signed with James Madison in 2022
Rolijah Hardy: unrated recruit, signed with Indiana in 2024
Isaiah Jones: 3-star, signed with Indiana in 2022
Defensive Backs
D'Angelo Ponds: 3-star, signed with James Madison in 2023
Louis Moore: unrated recruit, signed with Navarro College in 2021
Amare Ferrell: 3-star, signed with Indiana in 2023
Devan Boykin: 3-star, signed with NC State in 2020
Overall Numbers
-- 55.6 percent (49 of 88) CFP semifinal starters have been in college at least four years
-- 54.5 percent (48 of 88) starters did not sign with their current school out of high school
-- 13.6 percent (12 of 88) starters were top-100 recruits -- and eight of those 12 play for Oregon