Indiana hands Alabama worst postseason loss in program history in Rose Bowl beatdown

Indiana dominated Alabama 38-3 successful the Rose Bowl Thursday to nonstop the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

It marked the astir lopsided postseason decision for the Crimson Tide successful programme history. It was besides Alabama's biggest borderline of decision successful immoderate crippled since a 42-6 decision to Arkansas Sept. 26, 1998.

Indiana had not won immoderate vessel crippled since the Copper Bowl successful 1991, but past has been nary lucifer for Curt Cignetti and his ascendant Hoosiers during the coach’s 2 transcendent seasons.

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Roman Hemby (1) of the Indiana Hoosiers runs with the shot successful the 4th fourth against the Alabama Crimson Tide successful a College Football Playoff quarterfinal astatine Rose Bowl Stadium Jan. 1, 2026, successful Pasadena, Calif.  (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Indiana backmost Fernando Mendoza passed for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns successful his archetypal crippled since winning his school’s archetypal Heisman Trophy.

Indiana scored the game’s archetypal 24 points earlier pouring it connected with 4th fourth rushing TDs from Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby, wrapping up a jubilant triumph successful the 112th variation of the "Granddaddy of Them All."

Charlie Becker, Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt caught TD passes, portion Black rushed for 99 yards. Indiana outgained Alabama 407-193, steadily delighting a decidedly pro-Indiana assemblage that celebrated its long-struggling team’s archetypal Rose Bowl crippled quality since 1968 with chants of "Hoosier Daddy?" successful the last minutes.

The Hoosiers are headed to the Peach Bowl Jan. 9 for a CFP semifinal rematch with fifth-seeded Oregon, which routed Texas Tech 23-0 earlier Thursday successful the Orange Bowl. Indiana bushed the No. 3 Ducks 30-20 successful Eugene successful October successful 1 of Cignetti’s astir awesome Big Ten victories.

Indiana is 2 wins distant from the archetypal nationalist title successful schoolhouse past aft becoming the archetypal squad to beforehand aft a first-round bye successful the existent 12-team playoff format. The archetypal six bye teams — including the archetypal 2 this play — couldn’t travel backmost beardown from an extra-long layoff, but the Hoosiers took attraction of concern portion improving to 25-2 nether Cignetti.

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Roman Hemby (1) of the Indiana Hoosiers runs with the shot successful the 4th fourth against the Alabama Crimson Tide successful a College Football Playoff quarterfinal astatine Rose Bowl Stadium Jan. 1, 2026, successful Pasadena, Calif.  (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

The Crimson Tide’s 2nd play nether Kalen DeBoer ended successful the aforesaid venue arsenic its last play nether Nick Saban 2 years ago. Alabama was outclassed 1 week aft an awesome roadworthy triumph implicit Oklahoma, managing conscionable 151 yards earlier the meaningless last minutes of this blowout.

Ty Simpson passed for 67 yards earlier backup Austin Mack replaced him successful the 3rd quarter. Mack instantly got the Tide rolling connected a 65-yard thrust starring to a abbreviated tract goal, but the Hoosiers responded with 2 touchdown drives.

Indiana dominated the celebrated Rose Bowl turf, which stayed pristine contempt astir 24 hours of dependable rainfall earlier kickoff. The storms dissipated portion the Hoosiers took their first-half lead, and bluish skies appeared successful the 2nd half.

After the archetypal scoreless archetypal 4th successful a Rose Bowl successful 26 years, Indiana’s 2nd thrust stretched 84 yards and 16 plays implicit astir 9 minutes earlier Nicolas Radicic’s 31-yard tract extremity connected the archetypal drawback of the 2nd quarter.

Indiana’s defence past stopped Alabama connected 4th and 1 astatine the Tide 34, and Mendoza fired a long, precocious walk to the leaping Becker 4 plays aboriginal for a 21-yard touchdown.

Simpson fumbled successful Indiana territory aft a courageous first-down scramble precocious successful the archetypal half, and the Hoosiers methodically drove for Mendoza’s 1-yard TD walk with 17 seconds near to Cooper, the leader of Indiana’s melodramatic triumph implicit Penn State.

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Indiana Hoosiers antiaircraft backmost D'Angelo Ponds (5) forces a fumble by Alabama Crimson Tide backmost Ty Simpson (15) aft a deed during the 2nd 4th of the College Football Playoff Rose Bowl astatine the Rose Bowl Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, successful Pasadena, Calif. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

After halftime, Mendoza led a dependable 79-yard thrust that ended with his 24-yard TD walk to a leaping Sarratt.

The triumph is the latest measurement successful the two-season turnaround of a programme that had the astir losses successful assemblage shot past earlier Cignetti took charge. After winning 11 games and reaching the CFP past season, the Hoosiers steamrolled done their docket this autumn earlier beating defending nationalist champion Ohio State for the Big Ten rubric and ascending to the No. 1 spot successful the AP Top 25 for the archetypal time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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