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The entire tone of the Rose Bowl Game changed with 12:44 left in the first half.
On a fourth-and-1 from the Alabama 34-yard line with Indiana leading 3-0, Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer left the offense on the field. Running back Daniel Hill was lined up in the Wildcat formation, and Indiana coach Curt Cignetti called a timeout.
After the timeout, Alabama lined up to punt with quarterback Ty Simpson on the field. He motioned in and tried to draw the Hoosiers offside to no avail before calling a timeout.
At that point – a New Year's Day meme was born.
— Dusty Baker (@DustyBakerTV) January 1, 2026Cignetti – much like McKayla Maroney back in the day – was not impressed. Alabama brought Hill back out on the field and ran a quick pass to Germie Bernard – who was stuffed by Isaiah Jonies and Rolijah Hardy. Indiana turned that botched gamble into a touchdown, and from there it was over.
No. 1 Indiana routed No. 9 Alabama xx-xx on Thursday and advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 9. The Hoosiers (14-0) have a rematch with No. 5 Oregon (13-1), which guarantees the Big Ten will have a team in the CFP championship for the third consecutive season. This is more than that, however.
It's about the continual narrative destruction Indiana is achieving with Cignetti. Alabama (11-4) did not look like it belonged on the same field with Indiana.
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Indiana puts 'rest vs. rust' narrative away
Teams with a first-round bye in the 12-team College Football Playoff were 0-6 coming into the Rose Bowl. They went 0-4 last year. No. 2 Ohio State lost 24-14 to No. 10 Miami on Wednesday in the biggest upset of the CFP era. Oregon beat No. 4 Texas Tech 23-0 in the early game Thursday.
It would have been easy to lump Indiana into that group after Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza took two sacks on the opening drive against the Crimson Tide. Alabama was a trendy upset pick after beating No. 8 Oklahoma 34-24 on Dec. 19.
Instead, the Hoosiers settled in after taking over from their own 3-yard line on the second possession. Mendoza led a 16-play, 84-yard drive that resulted in a 31-yard field goal by Nicolas Radicic. The punt-or-not-to-punt sequence followed, and the Hoosiers cashed in with a 21-yard TD pass from Mendoza to Charlie Becker.
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson fumbled on the next drive, and Mendoza hit Omar Cooper Jr. for a 1-yard TD and a 17-0 lead with 17 seconds remaining in the first half. Indiana opened the second half with a TD drive on its first possession – a 24-yard TD pass from Mendoza to Elijah Sarratt.
Alabama replaced Simpson with backup quarterback Austin Mack at that point. Hoosiers running back Kaelon Black added the topper with a 25-yard TD run with 14:21 remaining.
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Hoosiers beat another playoff powerhouse
Indiana improved to 25-2 under Cignetti with the victory – a run that continues to defy the college football imagination. The Hoosiers won 23 games with two bowl losses the previous five seasons under Tom Allen, and that was considered a respectable run.
Now, Indiana has the best statistical combination of offense and defense, Mendoza proved immune to any Heisman curse and they dominated rain or shine on the most-hallowed stage in college football.
How many times do we have to do this? Indiana is now 4-1 against programs that ranked in the top five in winning percentage since 2021, and that includes victories against Ohio State (59-10), Oregon (58-11), Michigan (57-12) and Alabama (56-13). Only Georgia (65-6) remains, and that matchup could materialize for the CFP championship on Jan. 19.
This victory was different. Indiana beat the Buckeyes, Wolverines and Ducks by an average of six points per game in the last two seasons. This was a blowout against the most decorated program of the CFP era. The Hoosiers are one game away from playing for a national title.
It does not seem real.
Indiana-Oregon gives Big Ten new title shot
The rematch with the Ducks should be fun. Indiana beat Oregon 30-20 on Oct. 11 at Autzen Stadium, which started to erase the doubts that this was real after late-season losses to Ohio State in the regular season and Notre Dame in the first round of the CFP in 2024.
The Ducks beat No. 5 Texas Tech 23-0 at the Capital One Orange Bowl, and Oregon has been a factor in the national championship race for most of the 21st century. It's wild to think the Ducks will be the "old money" in this matchup.
It's great for the Big Ten. Michigan and Ohio State – the fabled "Big Two" of the conference – have won the last two national championships. The last school other than the Buckeyes or Wolverines to win a national championship as a member of the Big Ten was Michigan State in 1965. Cignetti was 4 years old.
Sixty years later, he emerged as the face of 12-team CFP with one smirk after a timeout. The quotable quotes. The sideline interviews. The facial expressions. It's on somebody to stop Indiana. Not the other way around.
How can you not be impressed with that?
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