A Rare Wet Rose Bowl Morning
For only the second time in the past 19 years, rain greeted the New Year at the Rose Bowl.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms soaked Pasadena through the morning hours of Jan. 1, forcing organizers to tarp the famed playing surface and prompting working crews to push standing water off the field and toward the stands. The Tournament of Roses Parade was conducted under a flood watch, and concerns lingered about how the weather might affect one of college football’s most tradition-rich stages.
According to AccuWeather, rain was expected to taper off around 1 p.m. local time, with a lingering chance of showers through the first half of the game. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti downplayed the forecast at his final pregame press conference.
“If it’s a deluge, that’s one thing,” Cignetti said. “I don’t expect that. But in the end, you’ve just got to adapt.”
By kickoff, adaptation was no longer theoretical. The rain stopped. The clouds thinned. By the fourth quarter, blue skies appeared above the San Gabriel Mountains.
By then, Indiana had already made the outcome clear.
Indiana Takes Control Early
Fernando Mendoza threw three touchdown passes, Indiana dominated the line of scrimmage, and the top-seeded Hoosiers advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals with a 38–3 victory over Alabama in the 112th Rose Bowl.
Indiana (14-0) out-gained the Crimson Tide 407–193, controlled possession by nearly ten minutes, and scored the game’s first 24 points, turning the Granddaddy of Them All into a decisive statement from a program long absent from college football’s biggest stages.
After a scoreless first quarter — the first such opening in a Rose Bowl in 26 years — Indiana asserted itself with a methodical 16-play, 84-yard drive that consumed nearly nine minutes and ended with a 31-yard field goal by Nicolas Radicic.
The Hoosiers’ defense then delivered the first of several tone-setting moments, stopping Alabama on fourth-and-1 near midfield. Four plays later, Mendoza lofted a high, arcing pass to Charlie Becker for a 21-yard touchdown, giving Indiana a lead it would never relinquish.
Late in the half, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson fumbled after a scramble into Indiana territory. Mendoza capitalized, capping a short drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. with 17 seconds remaining to send the Hoosiers into halftime up 17–0.
Mendoza Delivers, Calmly and Repeatedly
Playing his first game since winning Indiana’s first Heisman Trophy, Mendoza delivered with precision rather than spectacle. He finished 13 of 15 through three quarters, spreading the ball efficiently and keeping Alabama’s defense off balance.
Indiana opened the second half with a 79-yard touchdown drive, finished by Mendoza’s 24-yard scoring pass to Elijah Sarratt, pushing the lead to 24-0 and effectively draining suspense from the afternoon.
Mendoza finished 12 of 16 for 192 yards and three touchdowns, silencing any lingering doubts about his ability to perform on college football’s biggest stage.
Pat Coogan, the Line, and the MVP Moment
Indiana’s dominance began up front.
The Hoosiers ran the ball 50 times for 240 yards before sack adjustments, recorded 14 rushing first downs, and consistently moved Alabama backward at the point of attack. That performance earned center Pat Coogan the Rose Bowl’s offensive Most Valuable Player award.
The fifth-year senior became the first offensive lineman since 1944 to receive an MVP honor in the Rose Bowl. Coogan, a transfer from Notre Dame, appeared visibly stunned when ESPN’s Rece Davis presented him with the award.
“Coogs is just the voice of our offense,” tight end Riley Nowakowski said in the locker room. “From the communication to the leadership — without him, it doesn’t go.”
Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad credited Coogan’s command and physicality.
“He understands defense, he understands what we’re trying to accomplish,” Bostad said. “He gets everyone on the same page. That’s the start.”
Coogan, one of only two Hoosiers to serve as a game captain every week this season, quickly emerged as a locker-room leader after arriving as a late transfer.
Alabama Outmatched and Undermanned
Alabama’s uphill climb grew steeper midway through the third quarter.
Quarterback Ty Simpson, who took a hard hit late in the first half, returned briefly after halftime before being replaced by backup Austin Mack. ESPN noted the change as a coach’s decision during the broadcast, and Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer clarified afterward that Simpson had been playing through injury.
“Yeah, Ty had an injury,” DeBoer said. “He really wanted to try and go out there.”
Simpson later said the injury was a cracked rib, discovered at halftime. He finished 12 of 16 for 67 yards.
Mack, a redshirt sophomore, completed 11 of 16 passes for 103 yards and led Alabama’s only scoring drive — a 65-yard march that resulted in a third-quarter field goal.
“That’s a tough spot when you’re trying to catch up and it’s already the third quarter,” DeBoer said.
Indiana responded immediately, reasserting control with two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns by Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby, closing out one of the most lopsided postseason losses in Alabama history.
A Program Transformed, a Season Still Alive
The victory marked Indiana’s first Rose Bowl win and its first bowl victory of any kind since 1991. Two seasons ago, the Hoosiers were widely regarded as the losingest program in major college football.
Under Curt Cignetti, Indiana is now 25–2 over two seasons and two wins away from the first national championship in school history.
Indiana advances to the Peach Bowl semifinal on Jan. 9 to face Oregon, a team it defeated earlier this season in Eugene. Alabama’s season ends in the quarterfinals, with the transfer portal opening Friday.
The rain came. The sky cleared. Indiana stayed.
And college football may never look quite the same.
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Article & Photograph By: Gary George, Inland Valley News
