Indiana wins the Rose Bowl and re-asserts itself as the best team in the country
Who is betting against these guys anymore?
PASADENA, Calif. — Sunset? Did you say sunset?
No, there wasn’t any sunset here at the end of the third quarter. The Rose Bowl moved up an hour this year, in case you hadn’t heard, eliminating one of the fixtures of New Year’s Day, and of college football.
You know, that pageantry-laden sport in which the Alabamas of the world lord over — 18 claimed national titles, for those who had forgotten — while the Indianas of the world pile up loss after loss.
So no, there wasn’t any sunset here before the fourth quarter, which began around 3:30 local time.
Instead, there were “S-E-C” chants.
Alabama was playing, after all, and what is this sport without its traditions?
Like the Crimson Tide making a College Football Playoff opponent look silly, reminding all that this is the ultimate “Who’s Your Daddy” exercise.
Somewhere along the way these past two seasons, though, that became Hoosier Daddy. As in, the Hoosiers are the best team in the sport right now. On Thursday, they validated their No. 1 ranking, ensuring that they are far and away the favorite to win it all in 18 days in Miami.
Indiana beat Alabama, 38-3, in a game so lopsided that you began to worry for the Crimson Tide. The losers yanked their quarterback, Ty Simpson — at one point a legitimate Heisman candidate this season — early in the third quarter. It made no difference against a Hoosiers defense that was relentless, a unit that could safely play with the lead thanks to the work of its own quarterback, the guy who ended up actually winning the Heisman last month.
