PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — ROSE BOWL
No. 1 Indiana became the first team in the brief history of the 12-team College Football Playoff to win a game after receiving a first-round bye, smothering Alabama 38-3 in a quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
The Hoosiers (14-0; No. 1 AP, No. 1 CFP) ended a six-game losing streak for teams coming off an extended layoff, including second seed Ohio State falling to Miami in the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday and fourth seed Texas Tech being shutout by Oregon in the Orange Bowl earlier on Thursday.
An inauspicious start made it seem as if Indiana might continue the trend of teams unable to respond after a long layoff, going three-and-out on the opening possession with Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza taking two sacks. The Crimson Tide (11-4; No. 11 AP, No. 9 CFP) then found early success with two quick first downs into Hoosiers’ territory before the defense stepped up to force a punt.
From there, Indiana came to life, taking a 17-0 halftime lead on a 31-yard field goal by Nicolas Radicic and two touchdown passes from Mendoza. Avoiding an early deficit was crucial, as it had been something of a constant in the previous losses by idle teams.
ORANGE BOWL
NO. 5 OREGON 23, NO. 4 TEXAS TECH 0
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Matayo Uiagalelei caused a fumble to set up an Oregon touchdown, Jordon Davison rushed for two scores and the Ducks silenced Texas Tech’s offense for a win in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Orange Bowl on Thursday.
Dante Moore threw for 234 yards and Atticus Sappington kicked three field goals for Oregon (13-1), which will play either No. 1 Indiana or No. 9 Alabama in the Peach Bowl — a CFP semifinal — on Jan. 9.
The Peach Bowl winner will be back in Miami Gardens for the national title game on Jan. 19.
Texas Tech — which finished at 12-2 — came into the day second nationally in points per game (42.5) and fifth nationally in yards per game (480.3) but got absolutely nothing going. The Red Raiders turned the ball over four times, were stopped on fourth downs three other times and had four three-and-outs.
Tech quarterback Behren Morton — who finished 18 of 32 passing for just 137 yards — was stripped by Uiagalelei early in the third quarter in Red Raiders territory. Uiagalelei rumbled deep into the red zone and Davison scored one play later to make it 13-0.
Morton threw a red-zone interception early in the fourth quarter and a fourth-down stop from their own 30 midway through the fourth quarter doomed whatever comeback chances existed for the Red Raiders. Davison plunged in from the 1 with 16 seconds left to cap the scoring.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Karl Sonkin said:
Love the column Mark, memories of Caen resplendent
Connie Weiss said:
Thank you, Taso. So perfectly stated.
Mark Simon said:
Thanks and all the best for you and your family.
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