College football needs to stop diminishing the

Two unbeatens owned Pasadena Thursday, two unbeatens who remodeled a dreary morning into a startling afternoon, two unbeatens who overcame questions to shine like the poke of the noon solar.

Indiana and Grandaddy.

First, the Hoosiers, who improved to 14-0 and bolstered the growing perception that they’re the best faculty football crew in the nation after a 38-3 beatdown of Alabama in the Rose Bowl’s CFP quarterfinal sport.

Second, the Rose Bowl itself, the “Grandaddy of Them All” enhancing to 112-0, again proving immune to dangerous climate and misguided criticism while placing on faculty football’s most majestic show.

The rain that had soaked the morning Rose Parade stopped before the sport. Early in the second quarter, the solar creeped out. A postponed pregame flyover ultimately joined the occasion, a single jet buzzing the cheering crowd at the start of the third quarter. Finally, early in the fourth quarter the San Gabriel Mountains made their annual breathtaking look, barging through the clouds like the Hoosiers rolling over the Tide.

Afterward, having earned their first Rose Bowl victory 58 years after their only other look, the Hoosiers caught roses between their enamel and gave coach Curt Cignetti a Gatorade tub of roses.

“Make a helluva movie,” said Cignetti.

Truly, on a day that started so darkish, there wound up being a acquainted glow solid on the Rose Bowl winners and their unparalleled environment.

The distinction between the unbeatens is that while the faculty football world’s decision-makers finally respect Indiana, they more and more don’t admire Grandaddy.

The Rose Bowl needs to be faculty football’s national championship sport. Every Jan. 1. Always at 2 p.m. Now and eternally.

This shouldn’t be a new thought. The cries for this change may very well be heard from national faculty football pundits in current weeks as the playoffs have made a mess of every part else.

Conference championship video games? They’ve been rendered meaningless.

The other major bowl video games? They’ve misplaced their id, it being tough to inform which CFP sport is the Cotton Bowl, which one is the Orange Bowl, and which one is the Bluebonnet Bowl (Wait a minute. Is there still a Bluebonnet Bowl?)

The only bowl sport that still carries any weight is the Rose Bowl, which can have just unofficially topped a national champion for the second consecutive yr. Last season the CFP quarterfinals right here have been dominated by eventual champ Ohio State. On Thursday the Rose Bowl was completely overrun by Indiana — and its followers — in a setting that was the good marriage of crew and stadium.

The Rose Bowl is Augusta National. It is Churchill Downs. It is the Indianapolis Speedway. It is the tentpole that carries the sport’s postseason and thus deserves the sport’s last sport.

This is at present an issue because, on Jan. 23, every part in the Rose Bowl’s ever-changing world may change again. That’s the deadline that ESPN has given the College Football Playoff management committee to determine on how many playoff video games can be performed next season.

There is a strong chance the 12-team area will increase to 16, with the potential for 24 groups in 2027, all of which probably pushes the Rose Bowl additional into the background.

With this many playoff video games, the faculty football postseason may start a month earlier, with more video games performed on campuses and late-round video games being performed in late December and what occurs to the Rose Bowl then?

If it’s a quarterfinal or semifinal sport, will they need it performed a week before Jan. 1? Or possibly a week after Jan. 1? Do CFP officers need it to be just another midweek night time sport to keep away from battle with the NFL? Is it diminished to yet another fill-in-the-blank preliminary to a national title sport in some super-duper-they-look-alike stadium?

The chance of the Rose Bowl being severely diminished is real, because it’s already taking place.

Did you hear the trash discuss from Cignetti this week? He unloaded when he requested about competing in a playoff sport amid all the Rose Bowl’s fantastic distractions.

“Let’s face it, this is a playoff game, it’s a football game, right?” said Cignetti. “And I think both teams would like to be able to kind of go through their routine and process like they do for every football game and not have this disruption.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is showered in rose petals while lifting the Leishman Trophy following the Hoosiers’ win over Alabama on Thursday in the Rose Bowl.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The Rose Bowl has been downgraded from faculty football’s most venerable sport to a disruption? A disruption? Cignetti went so far as to say the Rose Bowl is nothing more than a identify.

“The Rose Bowl has a lot of tradition … but this is a playoff game,” he said. “We’re playing at the Rose Bowl. We played UCLA last year at the Rose Bowl … we’re getting ready to play a playoff game.”

But the gamers know this is different, just hear to Indiana quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.

“The Rose Bowl is a magical place,” he said, including, “I know a lot of people online say the national championship should be played at the Rose Bowl because it’s a special event. I think that just speaks volumes on what a great venue this is and what a special game this is. I think the Rose Bowl is the epitome of college football.”

On Thursday, Indiana was the epitome of faculty football in a win so overwhelming, a Mendoza completed the sport at quarterback and it wasn’t Fernando, it was his bench-sitting brother, Alberto.

“I’m very confident the way the team is playing,” said Fernando afterward. “It’s not just myself, I think our entire team and our coaching staff really enjoy football, and I think that’s why we work so hard at it … because not only do we enjoy football, we also enjoy winning. And we know what that takes.”

And they’ve what it takes. The Hoosiers gained more than twice as many yards and had one fewer first down than the Tide had yards dashing. They have been unsurprisingly led by Mendoza, who had more landing passes than he had incompletions, going 14 of 16 with three scores and no interceptions.

This sport was over early in the second quarter when Alabama, trailing 3-0, foolishly tried to convert a fourth and one from their 34-yard line. A short go to Germie Bernard was stuffed, and the Hoosiers and their Heisman quarterback got the reward of a short area.

Less than two minutes later, Mendoza hit a leaping Charlie Becker on a completely bulleted go to the end zone for a 21-yard landing and an eventual 10-0 lead.

Alabama had poked the bear, and paid dearly, and they continued to undergo late into the second quarter when a booming hit led to a Ty Simpson fumble around midfield, giving Indiana another break.

Can you inform the Hoosiers don’t need many breaks? This one they drove 58 yards in 11 performs on a push that ended with a one-yard landing go to Omar Cooper Jr. to end the half with an already-insurmountable 17-0 lead.

How deep is Indiana? Remember how Cooper made the catch of the yr in the back of the end zone to beat Penn State and cement Mendoza’s Heisman? The landing catch by Cooper on Thursday was the first time he had even been focused in the sport.

So many talent gamers. So many methods to beat you. Six different Hoosiers caught passes. Five different Hoosiers scored touchdowns. Four different Hoosiers rushed for double-digit yards.

All this, and the offensive MVP was the nameless middle, Pat Coogan, who was swarmed by leaping teammates when it was announced he received the award.

“A credit to all my teammates,” he said. “These guys are unbelievable.”

They may have to continue to be unbelievable when they play surging Oregon in the CFP semifinals next Friday in the … what bowl was that again? They’re all the same besides that one that just painted another marvelous Pasadena January afternoon.

Grandaddy, unbeaten and untied and still heavyweight champion of the faculty football world.

Here’s hoping he might be saved.

Indiana followers have fun after the Hoosiers’ 38-3 win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Thursday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)