Tony Thomas
Writer
At the Rose Bowl on January 1, against the majestic backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains, a tsunami of crimson-clad gridiron talent will inundate the iconic venue that even Moses himself could not part.
No, the mighty staff used to stain the green oasis of the Rose Bowl with crimson will be wielded by either Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer or Indiana head man Curt Cignetti in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
No. 9 Alabama is coming off a 34-24 first-round road victory over the Oklahoma Sooners. The Crimson Tide was slow out of the gate against the Sooners and found themselves down 17-0 in the second quarter. But Alabama came roaring back to tie the game 17-17 at halftime, courtesy of a pick-six by Zabien Brown.
It was a tale of two halves.
The Crimson Tide came out in the second half and blew the wheels off the old Boomer Schooner, outscoring Oklahoma 17-7, which included holding the Sooners scoreless in the third quarter.
The Alabama defense sacked Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer five times. Oklahoma recorded four sacks of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, but it was not enough to stem the Tide as it surges west toward Pasadena.
The No. 1 Hoosiers are enjoying their best season of football since the late 1960s. Under Cignetti, Indiana has posted a 24-2 record in two seasons in Bloomington. So much for being a basketball school in a basketball state.
Cignetti will lead the Hoosiers out of the tunnel as the winner of multiple Coach of the Year awards this season. On the field, the Hoosiers’ offense is led by the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
The last time Indiana teed up the pigskin was December 6 in their 13-10 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game.
It will be another 12 days before they play again. We will see if that much time off affects the play of either team when they tee it up in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.
The Alabama pass defense vs. Mendoza’s passing arm. The Crimson Tide secondary is ranked No. 10 in the FBS and has allowed just 168.4 yards per game through the air.
Through 14 games this season, Alabama has given up just 13 passing touchdowns while picking off 11 passes. Opposing quarterbacks are completing just north of 60 percent of their passes against the Crimson Tide (61 percent).
Mendoza passed for 2,980 yards, 33 touchdowns and only six INTs. In addition, Mendoza completed 71.5 percent of his passes. In 12 of 13 games, Mendoza has thrown at least one touchdown pass. He has thrown four TD’s in a game three times and five TD’s in a game twice. Mendoza has averaged 229 yards per game passing.
The color crimson will be flying high on New Year’s Day. Which band of crimson-clad warriors will prevail? Will it be the Alabama Crimson Tide, who have played in a game of this magnitude more times than one could count?
Or, will it be the upstart and No. 1 seed Indiana Hoosiers, who have kicked the basketball to the curb and made Indiana fans forget about the good old days of Bobby Knight on the hardwood?
Regardless, the 2026 version of the Granddaddy of them all will be the grandest spectacle of college football in the venerable 103-year-old venue. It does not get any better than that.
Owen Tyler
Writer
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The newly introduced transfer portal schedule is officially open for all college football athletes. The two-week period will run from January 2 to January 16. Ryan Day and his staff are no strangers to the portal, having brought in a total of 11 transfers during the off-season. With players set to depart from Ohio State […]
Cody Croy
Writer
The Buckeyes are wasting no time following the loss to Miami. The off-season has begun, and former LSU and Georgia assistant Cortez Hankton is set to step into a role with Ohio State as the wide receivers coach. Hankton will replace Brian Hartline, who left the team to become the next head coach at USF. […]
