Indiana defensive back D’Angelo Ponds set the stage for the No. 1 Hoosiers’ blowout win in the Peach Bowl against the Oregon Ducks on Friday. Ponds picked off Oregon quarterback Dante Moore on the first snap of the Peach Bowl and returned it to the House, opening the floodgates of the 56-22Â blowout win.
Ponds was awarded the Peach Bowl’s Defensive MVP trophy for his impressive performance that helped lead the Hoosiers to the national championship game, where they will face off against the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes on Jan. 19.
D’Angelo Ponds Receives Honor by City of Bloomington
On Tuesday, ‘IndyStar’ reporter Zach Osterman revealed on X that due to his Peach Bowl heroics, Ponds was being honored in a unique manner by the city of Bloomington.
“NEWS: The city of Bloomington is honorarily renaming the retention pond at Miller-Showers Park (the park north of 17th Street, where College and Walnut split) D’Angelo’s Pond, after D’Angelo Ponds’ Peach Bowl performance. #iufb.”
The release announcing the news specified that the renaming was temporary as the Bloomington area rallies around the Hoosiers, who are seeking their first national championship in program history.
Ponds’ Impact Celebrated by Indiana Teammate
Ponds’ pick-six against the Ducks has been celebrated by his Indiana teammates, with quarterback Fernando Mendoza praising his impact on the game during his postgame news conference.
“It’s basically the same play Jeremiah Smith ran in the National Championship last year against Notre Dame,” Mendoza said. “D’Angelo, you saw his pick-six. His start-stop is incredible, if not the best in the nation.”
In addition, Ponds played his first offensive snaps in college football when Indiana was facing 3rd-and-3 in the second quarter. Mendoza threw the ball to the influential defensive back, who then secured a first down for his team. The Hoosiers scored their fourth touchdown on the play, leading to lavish praise from the QB.
“To be able to have him run that and throw the man coverage and it was man coverage, so at that point I needed to put the ball in the vicinity of D’Angelo because although he’s a defensive back, he has fantastic ball skills. He has great hands,” Mendoza said.
“He could be a receiver, he has such great hands. It was kind of an extended handoff to him. Not only does he have great change of direction, great hands, he is also the fastest player on our team, too. So that helps for the first down.”
Ahead of the national championship game against Miami, Ponds has tallied 38 solo tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 interceptions, and 7 passes defended for the unbeaten Hoosiers this season. Ponds is ranked 24th in PFSN’s CFB CB Impact Metric with a grade score of 87.6.
