ATLANTA, Ga. (WDRB) -- College football will always chase five-star talent. It's the sport's currency, its addiction, its illusion. But if you want to understand why Indiana is here — in the College Football Playoff, preparing for a Peach Bowl rematch with Oregon — don't look at recruiting rankings. Look at Mike Shanahan's call sheet.
Look at the old offensive line. The grown-man receivers. The quarterback with a memory like a whiteboard, always clean for the next play.
Look at a simple philosophy that doesn't make the front page of signing-day rankings, but just might win a national title:
"Production over potential," Shanahan said Tuesday. "That's Coach Cignetti's thing, always has been. With production usually comes a wealth of experience."
That's how Indiana built this thing: with players who've seen it all, made mistakes, and matured.
You could see it last week in the way they handled Alabama. Calm. Methodical. Grown. No panic after the first drive. Just a collective reset. You'll see it again Friday if Oregon throws something exotic. Shanahan and quarterback Fernando Mendoza will treat it like another film session, not a crisis.
They've played the long game
Shanahan, who went to work for Cignetti at Indiana University Pennsylvania in 2016 for $10,000 a year, has been Cignetti's right-hand man long enough to build a system where the answers are baked in, but only if the players are experienced enough to recognize them.
"By now, a guy like (wideout) Charlie Becker, even though he's a sophomore, he's a junior because of the snaps he's logged," Shanahan said. "That matters."
It matters because Shanahan's offense isn't built to trick you with volume. It's built to repeat plays with variation. The same look, different outcome. A run play dressed up like a screen. A screen dressed up like play-action. Nothing complicated. Unless you're on defense.
"It's easy in our system to change things up and keep it simple for our guys," Shanahan said, "but make it look different to the defense and hopefully cause a miscommunication, or a guy getting out of his gap."
This is part of the secret sauce, not just experience, but what experience unlocks. Indiana isn't trying to be trendy. It's trying to be tough. It's trying to be clear. It's trying to win.
Mendoza: Calm as an old soul
There's a reason Mendoza thrives here. He's talented, sure, but his superpower is short memory and long perspective. After Alabama showed something Indiana hadn't seen on tape, Shanahan explained it once on the sideline. That was it.
"Nothing has shaken him," Shanahan said. "You know the moments I'm talking about. The good and the bad. He wipes the slate clean and resets."
That's learned behavior. Developed. And part of what makes this system work, not just a playbook but a mindset.
Why Indiana's offense keeps delivering
When Oregon comes calling Friday with its pressure packages, Indiana won't be guessing. The Hoosiers will rely on what they've done all year: run the ball, stay on schedule, and find the matchups they like.
"It all starts with the run game," Shanahan said. "It lets the O-line eat. It opens up the one-on-ones for our receivers. It slows down the pass rush."
That's not revolutionary. But it works — when it's being executed by 22-year-olds who've taken 3,000 college snaps.
A blueprint, not just for Indiana
There's something refreshing about Indiana's climb. No gimmicks. No splashy signings. Just clear expectations, old-school standards, and a coordinator who'd rather teach than tweet.
Shanahan may not be flashy, but he's steering one of the most balanced, resilient offenses in the country. And the Hoosiers are playing in January because they bet on what players have done, not what they might become.
In a sport full of potential, Indiana chose production. Now it's on the brink of something even more rare:
Proof of concept.
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