Oregon and Dan Lanning received wake-up call that they aren't alone in the Big 10

The hierarchy and structure of the Big 10 Conference promises to be drastically different this season, after the seventh-ranked Indiana Hoosiers waltzed into Eugene, Oregon and Autzen Stadium to face Dan Lanning and the third-ranked Ducks on Saturday afternoon.

Oregon, a perennial powerhouse and the reigning undefeated Big 10 champions (we're happy to ignore what happened after the championship game for the sake of this argument), entered this season with tremendous expectations in their second season outside of the now-defunct Pac-12 Conference. Their opponent for this week, however, is fresh off a College Football Playoff berth, and seems even better than last year's squad. 

Taking down Old Dominion on opening weekend was a victory that looks more impressive by the week, as the Monarchs have yet to lose another game -- they've allowed more than seven points just once since Indiana put them down! But the alarms began to sound when the then-top 10 Illinois Illini entered Memorial Stadium in Bloomington and left with a 53-point deficit.

Translation: the Indiana Hoosiers are a serious threat this season. Their halftime lead over the Ducks was a message signed, sealed, and hand-delivered to the onlooking nation.

Last season, when the Hoosiers took on Ohio State, a giant in the league, their potential was identified and the line was drawn in a blowout defeat in Columbus -- they weren't serious contenders. Not yet, anyway. But a lead against one of the best teams in not only the Big 10, but the country, is not just a message, it's a promise. A warning.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza is a serious candidate to walk home with the Heisman Trophy. the team has lost just one regular-season game in the past two years, and it's time to stop looking at Indiana football as what they've been historically, but rather what they have become.

It's time to take the Indiana Hoosiers seriously.

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