Dan Lanning and Dante Moore handle defeat in just the right way

If Indiana goes on to win the national championship, it'll be three years in a row the title was won by a veteran team with a core of experienced players, explosive and disruptive, plus a savvy coaching staff with a superior ability to scheme and teach football.

Michigan, Ohio State and IU were all characterized by relentless execution, teams on a mission. The Wolverines played like they knew what was coming. Indiana does too, but their edge is found in film study, preparation and execution.

The Ducks got demolished at the Peach Bowl. It's painful for Oregon fans because it has the feel of the same old story, key injuries at the worst time, a flurry of errors to start the game, a flat and unfocused performance, another blowout.

They seem equipped to blow out lesser teams, but struggle against the best ones. Oregon had no consistency running or passing. They couldn't keep pace or avoid costly mistakes. Two of their best weapons, Kenyon Sadiq and Malik Benson, were little used.

At the postgame press conference Dante Moore and Dan Lanning sounded the right notes. They gave credit to Indiana as they should. Lanning said, "It's not just what we didn't do. It's what they did do."

"First and first as a quarter, you've got to protect the football," Moore said. "Indiana of course has a great defense, great disguise with different looks, but you can't win football games if you're causing turnovers."

They played better and they won. The early line has them as 7.5-point favorites to beat Miami and win it all.

Learning the right lessons from a loss, and accepting what you can't change

That's sports. If you invest emotionally in a team and follow them to the end, most years will end in disappointment. One hundred and thirty-two teams went home before Oregon did. Only one team gets the trophy and the confetti.

The Ducks and their fans would have liked to see a cleaner effort and a more competitive game. Ending the season this way two years in a row leads to all kinds of recrimination and overreaction. Fire the coach. Get a new quarterback. The Hoosiers played championship football. No kind of fiery speech or motivational PowerPoint will substitute for that.

Indiana's formula is simple and timeless. They study film and practice with purpose. They execute. They have smart, veteran players who produce under pressure.

There was a telling factoid before the game: The Hoosiers' average age is 23 years old. Like 2023 Michigan and 2024 Ohio State they're loaded with veteran players, fourth, fifth and sixth-year starters. The average age of the Green Bay Packers is 25.

The blue-chip ratio and star ratings are no longer king. Curt Cignetti's mastery of coaching fundamentals destroyed it. In the NIL era, a coach has to assemble a team, a cohesive group who knows what they are doing.

After four seasons as a head coach Lanning is 48-8. He's won a Big Ten Championship and two playoff games. Right now, at 39, he's well ahead of the pace of Nick Saban, Kirby Smart or Cignetti, who was 62 when he was hired in Bloomington. Now Lanning has to figure out how to win these Top 5 matchups (He got one at the Orange Bowl against Texas Tech.) or be labeled another James Franklin.

If Lanning has taught Oregon fans anything, it's that it doesn't matter how other people define you.