CFB: No. 7 Indiana vs. No. 3 Oregon

There is a massive prove it game going down in Eugene on Saturday.

No. 7 Indiana and No. 3 Oregon will square off in Autzen Stadium with the winner having an Inside track to the Big Ten Conference Championship Game in December.

Both squads have surprised people outside their fanbases, but there are still many unknowns about each team that will be revealed after the final whistle.

Let's go over what each team has shown through the first six weeks of the season.

For Indiana, everyone knows that Curt Cignetti wins.

He is 16-2 since taking over in Bloomington.

Last year was remarkable because of a first-year head coach leading such a dramatic turnaround for a program but this season may be even more impressive.

The Hoosiers only returned eight of their 22 starters from the previous season, which makes their top-five scoring offense, top-three scoring defense, and other impressive team statistics seem even more remarkable.

One of the reasons their offense is explosive again this season is Fernando Mendoza.

The transfer quarterback from Cal has 16 touchdown passes, which is the most in the Big Ten and tied for second nationally.

He threw five of those scores against a then top ten Illinois squad when the Hoosiers crushed the Illini 63-10.

It is one of the three games in which Mendoza has thrown for at least four touchdowns this season.

What is known about Oregon is that they have been as advertised this season. Potentially even better than they were expected to be this season.

The Ducks have been playing motivated since they lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl last season.

They have touched 40 points times this, including against Oklahoma State and Oregon State before coming to Happy Valley and taking out a then top-three Penn State team in double overtime.

Dan Lanning has kept his squad motivated and prepared even though they too have five returning starters from last year’s team.

Like Indiana, the Ducks are also led by a transfer quarterback. Dante Moore is second in the Big Ten with 14 touchdown passes along with having at least three in all but one game this season.

He came from UCLA and sat behind Dillon Gabriel last year, but has taken the Ducks offense to new heights this year.

Oregon’s defense is no slouch either, as they have put together a unit that has only allowed 12.2 points per game.

But what is unknown about each team?

For both teams, it is tough to judge if their wins represent how good they truly are.

This is no disrespect to either program, but Illinois and Penn State have not played the way anyone would have expected two former top ten teams would have this year.

The Illini were in a battle with Purdue last week before pulling away and the Nittany Lions lost to a winless UCLA squad the same day.

With two top ten scoring offenses and defenses colliding this weekend one squad’s good fortunes will continue while the others will run dry.

Kickoff from Eugene is set for 3:30 p.m.

Chase Fisher is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ctf5198@psu.edu.