Coach ,
Fernando Mendoza just became Indiana’s first-ever Heisman winner, and he’s a primary reason the Hoosiers are the #1 seed in the CFP. He’s clinical, has a 72% completion rate, and rarely puts the ball in harm's way.
To slow him down in the Peach Bowl, Dan Lanning isn’t just looking at scheme—he’s looking at psychology.
In clinics, Lanning has shared his idea of the "Elusion of Pressure." He pointed to how Todd Bowles handled the Chiefs in the Super Bowl where they rattled young Patrick Mahomes: apply heavy pressure early to "speed up" the quarterback's internal clock, then play coverage the rest of the night.
Lanning's approach at Oregon mirrors what he helped build at Georgia. He uses the same presentation for two completely different results:
- The Bait: Show pressure across the board in the red zone, then pop out into a drop-eight zone. This forces the QB to hold the ball or check it down into tight windows short of the sticks.
- The Bite: Use that exact same alignment and front mechanics, but this time, trigger a max blitz. By the time the QB realizes the "drop" isn't coming, the rush is already home.
As Lanning puts it, to be a good pressure team, there have to be times you don't bring it. It’s about dictating to the offense without having to bring six every time.
Against a Heisman winner who knows how to beat pressure, Oregon’s ability to lie to Mendoza before the snap will be the difference between a national title berth and a long flight back to Eugene.
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