Oregon must make one key adjustment in Peach Bowl rematch with Indiana -- solve the Hoosiers' pass rush puzzle

If the Ducks want a chance at coming out on top in this much-anticipated rematch, Dante Moore must stay off the ground in Atlanta

One of the first things Curt Cignetti said after Indiana's 38-3 blowout of Alabama in the Rose Bowl was how much harder it is to beat a good team twice. He knew why he was saying it. Indiana's next opponent would be the same Oregon team it beat 30-20 at Autzen Stadium earlier this season.

Cignetti has repeated the line every chance he's gotten since, and that's no accident. He learned far more than Xs and Os under Nick Saban. He understands messaging. He knows what his players need to hear and how often they need to hear it. Indiana players will be reminded again and again that "they say you can't beat a great team twice," with a heavy subtext of nobody believes in us as they prepare for the rematch.

While Cignetti is clearly using it as motivation, there's also some truth behind it. It's not that you can't beat a great team twice; it's that the team that loses the first meeting usually comes away with a much clearer picture of what needs to change. And in this case, what Oregon needs to do better is obvious.

Protect Dante Moore.

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Moore has been sacked 15 times this season. Overall, he's been one of the better quarterbacks in the country at avoiding pressure, facing it on just 23.5% of his dropbacks -- seventh-best among qualified quarterbacks. Perhaps not coincidentally, Miami's Carson Beck and Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss rank first and second. However, when Moore is pressured, he's been more vulnerable. His pressure-to-sack rate of 6.4 ranks 48th nationally, and his sack rate of 3.9% is 21st. In other words, when Oregon fails to keep heat off him, Moore is susceptible to it.

That problem was glaring against Indiana.

Moore was pressured on 47.6% of his dropbacks and sacked six times. Forty percent of all the sacks he's taken this season came in that one game. It's an eye-popping number, but it shouldn't come as a shock.

Newsflash to anyone who hasn't been paying attention: Indiana's pass rush is very good. The Hoosiers' team pressure rate of 41.2% ranks fourth nationally, and their sack rate of 9.2% ranks eighth -- both ahead of Miami. How they get there depends on who you ask.

One coach whose team faced Indiana told CBS Sports defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and his players "are great at disguising their looks pre-snap and giving you an entirely new picture after. They confused the shit out of our quarterback." A coach from another opponent disagreed, saying it wasn't about confusion at all. "They whipped our butts up front every snap," he said.

Based on the film and the numbers, my suspicion is that Oregon -- and Moore -- fell into the confusion bucket.

According to PFF, Oregon allowed pressure in an average of 2.49 seconds in the first meeting. That's not particularly alarming. In fact, Moore faced faster pressure in five other games this season, including against Penn State, Iowa and even James Madison. The key difference is what happened after the snap. Moore took an average of 2.89 seconds to get rid of the ball. That was the longest average time-to-throw he had in any game this season.

Moore was dropping back and didn't know what he was looking at.

Whatever the cause, Oregon has to solve that puzzle. Every team Indiana faced this season only saw them once. We don't yet know how "confusing" that defense will be the second time around. How well the Ducks adjust their game plan based on what they learned in the first meeting will go a long way toward determining whether Cignetti's favorite line remains a talking point - or becomes a footnote.