For IU's football program, Saturday's trip to Oregon represents an opportunity to rise to the level of the super-elite

This is the ultimate test for the No. 7 Hoosiers.

This is IU’s chance to rise to the status of the super-elite. This is IU’s chance to show that last year’s College Football Playoff wasn’t a product of a soft schedule. This is IU’s chance to show the college football world the Hoosiers are a real-life national contender, the top of the top, when IU meets Oregon Saturday in Eugene, Ore.

We know what the college football illuminati have said about the Hoosiers, know that last year’s accomplishments have been diminished in the public eye by the quality of the schedule. And when they lost in one-sided games to Ohio State and Notre Dame, IU’s critics had a field day, going so far as to suggest the Hoosiers didn’t belong in the CFP. (Like, um, Alabama did?)

This, though, is a better IU team than the one that stunned the football universe by going 11-2 and reaching the playoff after a lifetime of losing. This team has quarterback Fernando Mendoza; Kurtis Rourke was very good, but Mendoza can make plays off-schedule and use his legs to make things happen.

Now comes the ultimate test, No. 7 IU (can you believe we’re writing “No. 7 IU”?) against No. 2 Oregon.

This is the third time IU has been a featured player on ESPN’s GameDay in the past 13 games, a remarkable stretch of excellence that has drawn national attention after years in the wilderness of sub-mediocrity.

It will also be a compare-and-contrast game, Mendoza facing the Oregon defense, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore dealing with the smaller but highly opportunistic IU defense. This one will go a long way toward bringing clarity to the Heisman Trophy race.

The Hoosiers are an underdog, as dictated by common sense. Oregon coach Dan Lanning is 22-1 at Autzen Stadium. Two weeks ago, the Ducks went into Penn State and walked out of there with a victory. These guys are the best of the best, right there with No. 1 Ohio State.

“We’re not as big as Oregon,” Curt Cignetti said. “They can roll four inside guys at D-tackle who are 330 (pounds) plus. They’ve got big people in there.

“I guess we’re going to find out this week, but what I would say about Ohio State and Notre Dame, you can dwell on the line of scrimmage but I don’t think we won the battle at any position in those games.”

How do the undersized Hoosiers win the line of scrimmage, or at least block well enough to give IU a productive running game and protect Mendoza?

“Leverage is the key,” said IU center Pat Coogan. “I feel like I’ve been hearing that since fourth grade, but it’s true...

“They’re big bodies, but they’re uber-athletic as well. Like, there are no slugs in there, right? Like, those boys can move. They’re really twitchy and athletic and long.”

Now they move up in weight class. They passed the first test, crushing then-No. 9 Illinois in Bloomington, 63-10. Oregon, however, is not only a Big Ten behemoth alongside Ohio State, they’re a national title contender.

A lot of that starts with the quarterback, Moore, whose numbers compare favorably with those produced by Mendoza.

“He’s playing really well,” Cignetti said. “He’s another guy, got big-time arm talent, quick release, accurate. He’s very athletic, very fluid, can run, extend plays, change of direction. He’s getting the ball out on time, in rhythm. He snaps it off really quick.

“The wide receivers are equally as impressive. Tight end, good depth there, good depth at running back. They spread the ball around. They use the field and they run the ball well. As (Moore has) played more, you can see he’s building on his success, confidence, belief and he’s one of the great quarterbacks in the country. There’s no doubt about that.”

Looking for a key to the game?

The Hoosiers have got to be able to run the ball effectively. Two weeks ago, they struggled at Iowa, averaging 2.9 yards per carry. If IU is consistently in third-and-long situations, Mendoza will be running for his life. The Hoosiers have to stay ahead of the sticks, especially on a day when the weather forecast calls for cool temperatures and some rain.

Somehow, IU’s got to keep the Autzen Stadium crowd out of the game.

They got some good experience with noise and passion two weeks ago in Iowa City, a brutal place to play.

“I think anytime you do something a second time, it helps that you’ve been through it,” Cignetti said. “Iowa was a sellout. It was loud. To have that kind of preparation going into this game will help.”

For all the miraculous things Cignetti has done with this program -- and “miraculous” is not an overstatement -- the two times they’ve come up against the super-elite programs like Ohio State and Notre Dame, they’ve bumped their heads against the glass ceiling, losing in a decisive manner both times. That’s not a criticism; heck, IU was 3-9 the year before Cignetti arrived. What he’s done is one of the great coaching jobs in the history of college football...maybe the greatest.

But they haven’t yet climbed the summit and shown they can beat, or even compete, with the super-elite. This is their chance, and they know it.