EUGENE -- Dueling Heisman Trophy contenders will take center stage in Saturday's top 10 clash of Oregon and Indiana.
Dante Moore and Fernando Mendoza, whose careers began at UCLA and Cal, respectively, will meet for a second time while leading the No. 3 Ducks and No. 7 Hoosiers. The winner will likely take over as the favorite for the sport's top individual award at the midpoint of the season.
"We always give credit when credit is due and he's been balling out this year for sure," Moore said. "Even when he was at Cal, I played against him my freshman year at UCLA. The way he makes them throws across the field, as a quarterback you love to see throws like that get made. He's a real competitor. He does a great job leading this offense. It's going to be a great battle."
Mendoza has taken his game to another level at Indiana, already matching his career-high for passing touchdowns (16) in just five games. He is completing 73% of his passes, 10th nationally, for 1,208 yards with just one interception and has rushed for 102 yards and two scores. His 197.77 passer rating ranks second nationally and is up more than 50 points from last season.
"This guy is a big, strong looking player when he plays," CBS analyst Gary Danielson said. "They don't do it a lot, but he's enough of a threat to run those quarterback powers or quarterback keepers."
Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) faced Mendoza two years ago, when he went 18 of 34 for 177 yards with an interception in a 63-19 rout by the Ducks in Berkeley. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza is a different player today though, far more accurate, experienced and surrounded with better weapons.
"He's got great delivery," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. "He's able to throw the ball extremely well but he's throwing it and he knows where his wide out is going to be. He knows what coverage he's throwing into. That's an indicator of a really well coached player that knows his system extremely well."
Oregon is the best defense Mendoza will face this season. The Ducks are holding opposing quarterbacks to just 52.1% completions with two touchdowns to five interceptions for a 92.8 passer rating, third lowest in the country.
They know Mendoza will present their greatest challenge as well and are looking forward to it.
"He makes solid decisions and plays well within their scheme," linebacker Bryce Boettcher said. "Hopefully he brings his best come Saturday, because we want to see his best and it should be a fun one."
The same goes for Moore against the IU defense.
He is completing 74.6% of his passes, fourth nationally, for 1,210 yards with 14 touchdowns and just one interception and has run for 122 yards. His 183.47 passer rating ranks sixth nationally.
"He's getting the ball out on time, rhythm," Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. "He snaps it off really quick. He's really impressive on tape. As he's played more, you can see he's building on his success, confidence, belief, and he's one of the great quarterbacks in the country."
Avoiding turnovers will be especially critical against a Hoosiers defense that already has seven interceptions and will have All-American cornerback D'Angelo Ponds back on the field. Indiana ranks sixth in pass efficiency defense and seventh in passing yards allowed per game.
"They do a good job of playing in zones and understanding where the quarterback's going to take the ball," Lanning said. "This is one where we have to do a great job of protecting the ball, but our quarterback's done that so far."
Moore's demeanor on and off the field is what stands out to Danielson, who was expecting the former five-star to carry himself with a degree of bluster but was surprised to see a measured calmness of Joe Burrow.
"Just a total assassin at quarterback," Danielson said. "He would be the guy that if I needed heart surgery, that's who I would want to walk in the room. ... I don't see a weakness on this guy at all. I really think that he is going to be a first or second quarterback taken in a draft coming up soon. I know Oregon fans don't want to hear when that soon will be, but who knows about it, because this guy can play quarterback."