That's how you silence the haters in the best way imaginable. Leading up to kickoff, plenty of people thought that Alabama would be able to potentially stun No.1 Indiana at the Rose Bowl, but the opposite turned out to be the case - the Hoosiers cruised to a 38-3 victory.
Curt Cignetti forces the rest of the country to put respect on Indiana's name
Fernando Mendoza was brilliant from start to finish, with the Bama defense having no answers for him and the rest of the offensive playmakers. Right after the win, Mendoza didn't hold back with his comments, passionately showing love to every single guy who took the field and made an impact in this one.
“It’s just a great conglomerate of individuals coming together and really forming complimentary football,” Mendoza said after the win. “Coach Cig (Curt Cignetti) has hit on us, no complacency and especially when you have a BYE, it’s tough to get into a rhythm of football, but once we got our feet on the ground, we knew we were going to stick together and come out with this W.”
Fernando Mendoza knew Indiana would stick together to take down Alabama
From that quote above, you can see just how much that win meant to Mendoza and his teammates as a whole. On the day, the Heisman Trophy winner tossed for 192 yards and three touchdowns, completing 14-of-16 pass attempts. Yeah, he was on fire in this one.
You've got to give props to the offensive line too, as the unit gave Mendoza more than enough time to find open wideouts, while they also opened up some huge holes that Kaelon Black was able to take full advantage of. The running back rushed for 99 yards and a score.
With the victory, Indiana is now two wins away from capturing the natty glory. Next up is a dance with Oregon in the national semifinals, with the Hoosiers favored by 4.5 points. Mendoza and Co. know what it takes to beat Oregon, already doing so earlier this campaign in Eugene. They have all the motivation in the world to show the Ducks who's boss once again.