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By Tyler Erzberger
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How good are Curt Cignetti's Indiana Hoosiers?
They're undefeated, handed Alabama its worst loss by point differential of the 21st century, and are heading into the College Football Playoff national title game after embarrassing Big Ten rival Oregon in the Peach Bowl.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza has more touchdowns thrown than incompletions in the CFP, with a Heisman award under his belt.
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The defense, which was overlooked because of its lack of size, has been mauling every offense it's faced. Their running backs gain nine yards per carry regardless of the situation. And their wide receivers make highlight catches like it's a routine day at the park, playing around.
One of those star wideouts, Omar Cooper Jr., thinks his side is not only remarkable, but historic.
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The 2019 LSU Tigers team, which blew the doors off every opponent they faced, is widely considered the best team of the CFP era. They were headlined by the three-headed monster that was QB Joe Burrow, with wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. All three have gone on to be superstars in the pros, with Burrow and Chase making a Super Bowl together on the Cincinnati Bengals.
Omar Cooper Jr. believes that his current Hoosiers team would beat Burrow's Tigers if a time machine is ever built and the two sides can face off.
"That's hard," Cooper Jr. answered when asked to say a score of the hypothetical clash. "I would say 24-21, Indiana."
Indiana's defense has stymied the best college football has to offer, but it would be a whole new level of task to try to slow down a Tigers offense that scored at will in 2019.
Mendoza, Cooper Jr., and fellow star wideout Elijah Sarratt will all soon have their chance to see if they can replicate the Tigers' "Big 3" in the NFL.
Mendoza is projected to go No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. Cooper Jr. has primarily gone in the third round in early mock drafts. Sarratt, who led the nation in receiving touchdowns with 15, is seen as a mid-to-late first-round pick.
First, though, they need to finish the job to even have a conversation against the Tigers. The vaunted Hoosiers offense will take on their biggest defensive challenge yet in the form of the Miami Hurricanes, who deploy the best EDGE rusher in college with Rueben Bain Jr. and other game changers in the trenches.
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