PASADENA, Calif. — Fernando Mendoza threw three touchdown passes, Indiana’s defense thoroughly throttled No. 9 Alabama and the top-ranked Hoosiers roared into the College Football Playoff semifinals with a 38-3 victory in the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
Mendoza passed for 192 yards in his first game since winning his school’s first Heisman Trophy, but the hard-nosed Hoosiers (14-0) won the Rose Bowl for the first time in school history by dominating the Crimson Tide (11-4) at the line of scrimmage.
Indiana scored the game’s first 24 points before pouring it on with fourth-quarter rushing TDs from Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby, wrapping up a jubilant win in the 112th edition of the Granddaddy of Them All.
Charlie Becker, Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt caught touchdown passes while Black rushed for 99 yards. Indiana outgained Alabama 407-193, steadily delighting a decidedly pro-Indiana crowd that celebrated its long-struggling team’s first Rose Bowl appearance since 1968 with chants of “Hoosier Daddy?” in the final minutes.
Indiana had not won any bowl game since the Copper Bowl in 1991, but history has been no match for Curt Cignetti and his dominant Hoosiers during the coach’s two transcendent seasons.
The Hoosiers are headed to the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9 for a CFP semifinal rematch with fifth-seeded Oregon, which routed Texas Tech 23-0 earlier Thursday in the Orange Bowl. Indiana beat the then-No. 3 Ducks 30-20 in October in Eugene in one of Cignetti’s most impressive Big Ten victories.
Indiana is two wins away from the first national championship in school history after becoming the first team to advance following a first-round bye in the current 12-team playoff format. The first six bye teams — including the first two this season — couldn’t come back strong from an extra-long layoff, but the Hoosiers took care of business while improving to 25-2 under Cignetti.
The Crimson Tide’s second season under Kalen DeBoer ended in the same venue as their final season under Nick Saban two years ago. Alabama was outclassed one week after an impressive road win over Oklahoma, managing just 151 yards before the meaningless final minutes of this blowout.
Ty Simpson passed for 67 yards before backup Austin Mack replaced him in the third quarter. Mack immediately got the Tide rolling on a 65-yard drive leading to a short field goal, but the Hoosiers responded with two unstoppable touchdown drives.
Indiana dominated the famous Rose Bowl turf, which stayed pristine despite nearly 24 hours of steady rain before kickoff. The storms dissipated while the Hoosiers took their first-half lead, and the sky cleared in the second half.
After the first scoreless first quarter in a Rose Bowl in 26 years, Indiana’s second drive stretched 84 yards on 16 plays over nearly nine minutes before Nicolas Radicic’s 31-yard field goal on the first snap of the second quarter.
Indiana’s defense then stopped Alabama on fourth-and-1 at the Tide 34, and Mendoza fired a long, high pass to the leaping Becker four plays later for a 21-yard touchdown.
Simpson fumbled in Indiana territory after a courageous first-down scramble late in the first half, and the Hoosiers methodically drove for Mendoza’s 1-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds left to Cooper, the hero of Indiana’s dramatic victory over Penn State.
After halftime, Mendoza led a steady 79-yard drive ending in his 24-yard TD pass to the leaping Sarratt.
The victory is the latest step in the monumental two-season turnaround of what was the losingest program in college football when Cignetti took charge. After winning 11 games and reaching the CFP last season, the Hoosiers steamrolled through their schedule this fall before beating defending national champion Ohio State for the Big Ten title and ascending to the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 for the first time.
Takeaways
- Indiana: The Hoosiers acted as if they had been here before, even though they hadn’t. Cignetti’s group has a businesslike demeanor that wasn’t remotely altered by Alabama’s reputation and history.
- Alabama: It was remarkable to see the most successful program of the 21st century get dominated up front. The Tide’s inability to run the ball was a seasonlong problem, but it was particularly painful in Pasadena. Whether through personnel or scheme, DeBoer’s offense must take a step forward next year to reach the standard expected at Bama.
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