PASADENA, Calif. (AP) 鈥� 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, 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 on Wednesday and fourth seed earlier Thursday.
Hoosiers players said they were aware of those struggles, so they locked in on the plan put together by head coach Curt Cignetti and director of athletic performance Derek Owings to ramp up during a 26-day layoff.
鈥淲e lifted a lot of weights over these three and a half weeks,鈥� Indiana wide receiver Elijah Sarratt said. 鈥淓ven days we didn鈥檛 have practice, we were still doing a little running and cutting to keep the bodies in shape.鈥�
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鈥� 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.
The Buckeyes found themselves in a 14-0 hole at the break against the Hurricanes, and the Red Raiders allowed 104 yards to the Ducks while gaining minus-2 yards in the first quarter. In last year’s Granddaddy of Them All, Oregon gave up the first 34 points in a 41-21 loss to eventual national champion Ohio State.
Not spotting Alabama an early advantage allowed Indiana to continue playing to its strengths and eventually wear down the SEC at-large participant.
鈥淲e wanted to go out there and really establish a physical presence from the first snap, just so we weren鈥檛 playing behind the eight ball,鈥� Indiana running back Roman Hemby said.
The break also gave key players, such as wide reciver Omar Cooper Jr., an opportunity to get healthy. Cooper had three receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown after sustaining a leg injury that knocked him out of the Big Ten championship game against Ohio State on Dec. 6.
鈥淭he advantage of not playing that extra game should be an ounce of recovery,鈥� defensive tackles coach Pat Kuntz said. 鈥淵ou should have a little more freshness to you, but at the same time, there can’t be a lapse in your focus. … I think we turned it up in the right way in our practice and preparation to where we peaked in the right moment.鈥�
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