Indiana is making its first shot at the national championship race, and let’s just say even technical issues can’t dampen the Hoosiers’ spirits anymore. At Pasadena, QB Fernando Mendoza was seen tapping on his helmet in the second quarter, raising eyebrows.

Moments later, reporter Haolly Rowe shared that the Hoosiers are facing helmet communication on the sidelines. She further suggested that the program is facing difficulty connecting with the booth upstairs as well. For obvious reasons, this prompted major concerns, with analyst Pat McAfee chiming in as well.

“Indiana Hoosiers football team finally makes the Rose Bowl,” McAfee starts. “Now they’re not letting the quarterback talk to the coach. So you tell me if there’s a little bit of a work comms (communication) issues here at the Rose Bowl, certainly a real thing. Not only for us, but for IU.”

It was the first drive of the second quarter. Indiana’s offense was well-suited to reach the end zone. After taking a timeout, the offense recorded a zero-yard pass, followed by RB Roman Herby sprinting straight into the line of scrimmage (for negative one yard).

Before Herby sprinted straight, Mendoza had signalled to his helmet, signalling communication issues. The tech conundrum certainly cost them, wrapping up their 84-yard drive with a field goal instead. As Rowe reported, the technicians quickly started to resolve the issue. Given the high-stakes clash with the national championship at stake, this issue has prompted a whirlwind of serious concerns.

Presently, Alabama has yet to face a similar issue, but the Hoosiers’ tech conundrum has certainly benefited them in forcing a stalled drive. It also raised questions regarding the different rules in NFL and college football. In the pro league, if a team faces helmet communication issues, the opponent as well has to forgo (helmet) communication privilege until the issue is finally resolved.

On the other hand, in college football, the helmet communication structure is still in its nascent stage. It’s been two years since the NCAA approved it following the controversial sign-stealing scandal.

Pat McAfee continued. “We’ll see if Alabama has to battle the same issues. Don’t know what the college rules are. In the NFL, if one side goes down, the other side has to get down. Yeah, take it down.”

It’s worth noting that helmet communication in college football is optional. However, despite facing the tech setback, Indiana is winning.

Indiana Hoosiers off to a 24-3 lead

So far, the scales are tipped in Indiana’s favor. They entered the Rose Bowl Stadium as the victors and are undoubtedly playing like that. Although the first fifteen minutes passed quietly, 0-0. However, since the second quarter, Indiana is making it big.

The Hoosiers have already scored three touchdowns and a field goal, 23-0, making it an extremely challenging comeback for Alabama.

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“We’re about to see history one way or another,” The Athletic’s Austin Green writes. “Either Alabama will match the largest comeback victory in Rose Bowl history (Georgia was down by 17 to Oklahoma in that 2018 Playoff semifinal double-overtime classic), or a team with a bye will win a Playoff quarterfinal game for the first time.”

With less than 10 minutes in the third quarter, the Hoosiers had a dominant 24-0 lead. In the last two minutes, Bama finally saw some action after Connor Talty scored a 23-yard field goal, making it 24-3. The odds are highly sfavouring Indiana right now.