PASADENA, Calif. — Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza literally jumped for joy when he learned he was not the offensive MVP of No. 1 Indiana’s dominant victory over Alabama in the College Football Playoff’s Rose Bowl quarterfinal Thursday.
The quarterback and his teammates ran across the awards stage in celebration to mob 6-foot-5, 310-pound center Pat Coogan — who was visibly shocked to be the center of attention at another landmark moment for these incredible, unbeaten Hoosiers.
“It’s probably the first, if I had to guess, offensive lineman MVP award,” Coogan said with a grin. “These guys are unbelievable. The belief that we have in each other … it’s just been never-ending growth, never-ending improvement.”
Coogan’s improbable honor was a beautiful bit of symbolism that recognized the manner in which these hard-nosed Hoosiers (14-0) — the top-ranked, top-seeded Big Ten champions — physically manhandled the 11th-ranked, ninth-seeded Crimson Tide (10-4), the Southeastern Conference runners-up and a traditional national power that looked nothing like that against upstart Indiana.
Just two years into one of the most incredible program turnarounds in recent sports history, Indiana was simply tougher, meaner and more precise on both sides of the ball than blue-blooded Bama in the 112th edition of the Rose Bowl — and now the Hoosiers are headed to the Peach Bowl semifinal on Jan. 9 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.