Indiana football made quite an emphatic statement in its College Football Playoff Rose Bowl quarterfinal matchup against No. 9 Alabama.
Behind a three-touchdown afternoon from Fernando Mendoza and some relentless defense, the top-seeded Hoosiers embarrassed the ninth-seeded Crimson Tide 38-3 in "The Granddaddy of Them All" on Thursday, Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to advance to their first CFP semifinal.
The Hoosiers' dominant "business trip" to the Rose Bowl made some history, as it is tied for the fourth-largest blowout win in the history of the College Football Playoff and the worst loss Alabama has sustained since 1998. It is the first bowl win for the Hoosiers since the 1991 Copper Bowl.
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A 17-0 halftime lead for Indiana quickly snowballed into a 38-3 lead for the Hoosiers following Roman Hemby's 18-yard rushing touchdown at the 10:33 mark of the fourth quarter. Mendoza's 1-yard pass to Omar Cooper Jr. with 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter started a four-consecutive drive stretch for the Hoosiers where they scored a touchdown
