For the fourth time in this College Football Playoff, a rematch is on deck. No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon will meet again Friday night at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The previous three rematch results suggests this sequel may favor the Ducks — teams that won the regular-season meeting are 1-2 in this CFP — a reality Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti readily acknowledged.

“Hard to beat a team twice, so edge to Oregon there,” Cignetti said last Friday.

Indiana, still unbeaten, handed Oregon its only loss of the season back on Oct. 11 in Eugene, overcoming a fourth-quarter pick-6 thrown by quarterback Fernando Mendoza to pull away for a 30-20 win. 

CFP predictions: Why Indiana will win it all | Why Oregon will win a national title 

Friday’s national semifinal marks uncharted territory for Indiana, a program still seeking its first recognized national championship in football. Oregon, meanwhile, is making its second national semifinal appearance of the CFP era, still chasing a title of its own after coming up short in the championship games following the 2010 and 2014 seasons.

Where to watch Indiana vs. Oregon live

Date: Friday, Jan. 9 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta, Georgia
TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

Indiana vs. Oregon: Players to watch in Peach Bowl

Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana: The Heisman Trophy winner had more touchdown passes (3) than incompletions (2) in the Hoosiers Rose Bowl win against Alabama. Mendoza already set the single-season program record for most touchdown passes (36) and is currently third in single-season passing yards (3,172).

Rolijah Hardy, LB, Indiana: The Hoosiers’ individual tackle leader this season with 93 total stops, Hardy was key in the win against Oregon during the regular season. He had 13 tackles, including two for loss with a sack. Hardy earned second-team All-Big Ten honors this season.

D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana: Ponds earned Defensive Player of the Game at the Rose Bowl, adding to his list of honors that includes being named second-team All-America by CBS Sports. He has yet to allow a touchdown reception in coverage and just 27 catches on 50 targets, according to Pro Football Focus.

Dante Moore, QB, Oregon: Moore had an overall shaky performance in the Orange Bowl win despite completing 78.8% of his passes. Still, he has blossomed into one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks and could be a top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft if he opts to forgo his final year of eligibility. The Ducks’ signal-caller ranks third nationally in completion percentage (72.9%), seventh in passer rating (166.73), eighth in passing touchdowns (28) and 14th in yards per attempt (8.8), showcasing his precision.

Jordon Davison, RB, Oregon: Oregon deploys a balanced, three-man rotation in the backfield, but Davison has emerged as its most dangerous finisher. Despite sharing carries with Noah Whittington and Dierre Hill Jr., the true freshman has piled up 667 yards on 113 rushes and found the end zone 15 times on the ground — a total that ranks among the national leaders.

Brandon Finney Jr., DB, Oregon: The true freshman played a big role in the Ducks’ shutout win in the Orange Bowl, snagging two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Finney became just the second player in CFP history with three takeaways in a game.

Indiana vs. Oregon prediction, pick

Curt Cignetti isn’t wrong — beating a team twice in one season is no small task. Still, there’s no reason to doubt the Hoosiers. Oregon’s shutout win in the CFP quarterfinal over Texas Tech looked impressive on paper, but the Ducks’ offense struggled to find rhythm against a respectable Tech defense. This Indiana defense is arguably better overall. The Hoosiers remain the only team to beat Oregon at home in the last 23 games, and getting them on a neutral field, plus factoring in another long trip to Atlanta after South Florida, gives the Hoosiers a real edge. Prediction: Indiana -4.5

We can only hope that the second semifinal is as good as the first.

On Thursday night in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Miami watched multiple leads disappear, dropped potential interceptions, committed penalties and still gutted its way into the College Football Playoff National Championship game with a 31-27 win over Ole Miss.

Carson Beck‘s 3-yard touchdown run made the difference, but it was a wonderful back-and-forth affair until the end.

As we prepare for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl between Indiana and Oregon on Friday evening, here are the key plays and takeaways from an incredible first semifinal.

What just happened?

Miami paid millions of dollars to bring Beck to town, and in the drive that would define his season with the Hurricanes, he led them 75 yards for the winning touchdown to send them to the national title game. Money well spent, huh?

Beck’s 3-yard touchdown scramble with 18 seconds left capped a madcap fourth quarter that featured four lead changes and even saw Ole Miss drive close enough for a shot at the end zone on the final play.

The Hurricanes hogged the ball for much of the game — time of possession after three quarters: Miami 33:50, Ole Miss 11:10 — but dropped four potential interceptions, missed a field goal and threw a pick deep in Rebels territory. Given extra life, Ole Miss took two fourth-quarter leads, first on Lucas Carneiro‘s fourth field goal of the evening, then on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Trinidad Chambliss to Dae’Quan Wright. But with four third-down conversions, Beck guided the Canes down the field and won the game.

Impact plays

Miami games don’t tend to feature many big plays, for or against, but chunk plays caused some pretty big swings in this one.

Kewan Lacy‘s 73-yard burst early in the second quarter — Ole Miss’ first good offensive play of the game — gave the Rebels a sudden 7-3 lead. Lacy tweaked a hamstring and missed most of the next two quarters before returning, but the touchdown bought Ole Miss some time.

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Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy bursts free for a 73-yard TD

Kewan Lacy goes untouched for a 73-yard touchdown to give Ole Miss a 7-3 lead.

Miami leveraged the game back in its favor. Keelan Marion scored on a bomb against busted coverage late in the first half to make it 17-10. After generating just 69 receiving yards in his first two playoff games, he was the semifinal star of the Miami receiving corps, catching seven passes for 114 yards.

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Miami’s Carson Beck connects with Keelan Marion for a 52-yard go-ahead TD

Carson Beck hits a wide-open Keelan Marion, who walks into the end zone to put the Hurricanes back on top.

Three Carneiro field goals — including a 58-yarder at the end of the first half and a doinked-in 52-yarder in the third quarter — would push the Rebels back in front, but they wasted a golden opportunity after a pair of Miami personal fouls (the Canes had 10 penalties on the evening) set up a first-and-goal. Ole Miss gained only 4 yards in three plays and settled for a 19-17 lead, which disappeared within two minutes on Malachi Toney‘s 36-yard burst off a screen pass.

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Miami regains lead on Malachi Toney’s 36-yard TD

Malachi Toney evades tackles on his way to a 36-yard touchdown to give Miami the lead back.

Ole Miss created the third lead change of the fourth quarter with Wright’s touchdown but left plenty time on the clock for Beck and the Canes. They used most of it, took the lead and broke up a Hail Mary.

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Miami wins after Ole Miss’ Hail Mary attempt falls incomplete

Trinidad Chambliss airs one out to the end zone, but it’s too far and falls incomplete.

See you next fall, Rebels

The most thrilling and headline-grabbing Ole Miss season in recent history ended with two straight down-to-the-wire thrillers. The Rebels played brilliant ball down the stretch, winning their last four regular-season games by an average of 38-14 to clinch a playoff bid despite the waves of headlines regarding Lane Kiffin’s potential move to LSU. And despite Kiffin leaving town and trying to take assistants with him before Ole Miss’ season had ended, the Rebels thumped Tulane in the playoff, came back from nine points down at halftime to beat Georgia in the quarterfinals, then came back again to nearly beat Miami.

So many of the Rebels’ stars made big plays Thursday night. Chambliss threw for 277 yards and a touchdown and used a great 19-yard scramble to set up Ole Miss’ last go-ahead touchdown. Lacy rushed for 103 yards on just 11 carries, reentering the game after his hamstring injury and grinding out tough yards. Leading receivers De’Zhaun Stribling and Harrison Wallace III combined for nine catches and 117 yards, while junior Cayden Lee came up big (five for 67) and Wright had three huge catches, all in the second half. Carneiro’s huge leg shined again. On defense, Suntarine Perkins had 1.5 sacks, and linebacker TJ Dottery and safety Wydett Williams Jr. made big plays early during Miami’s last drive, which could have been remembered differently with a different ending.

Pete Golding inherited a seemingly impossible situation with Kiffin leaving, but Ole Miss closed ranks and came achingly close to earning a spot in the national title game. Better yet, stars such as Chambliss (if he is granted an extra year of eligibility) and Lacy have already committed to staying in Oxford despite Kiffin’s efforts to bring them to Baton Rouge. Some stars have exhausted their eligibility, but Ole Miss enters 2026 battle-hardened and full of upside.

What’s next

Miami will officially play in its first national title game in 23 seasons. The Hurricanes will likely be underdogs against Indiana or Oregon, but they will be playing in their home stadium, and they have to feel like the patented team of destiny right about now. Close games have been a massive issue for the Canes at times under Mario Cristobal, but in their past three games, they’ve won at Texas A&M with a late end zone stop, beaten Ohio State by 10 with clutch execution and somehow found a way past Ole Miss despite so many bounces seemingly going against them.

Beck had a putrid start to the second half but produced late heroics. Mark Fletcher Jr. was again brilliant, rushing for 133 yards. CharMar Brown was again a tough-yardage master, rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown. Marion was a secret weapon, and Toney, the talented freshman, set up a touchdown with a tough third-down conversion in the first half and scored one himself in the fourth quarter.

The defense couldn’t corral Chambliss, recording only one sack, but the Canes allowed only one big run to Lacy and the backs. And they absolutely dominated third downs: Ole Miss went just 2-for-10 while the Canes went 11-for-19. Credit to the Rebels for nearly winning anyway, but the Canes controlled most of what they wanted to control. They hogged the ball beautifully, and when that couldn’t win them the game, they sped up the tempo and won a back-and-forth final quarter.