No. 1 Indiana in a league of its own after dominant Rose Bowl win over No. 9 Alabama

It's Indiana, then everyone else.

College Football Playoff No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers (14-0) flexed their muscle in a dominant 38-3 Rose Bowl win over No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-4) on Thursday. Two wins away from the program's first college football national championship, the Hoosiers are no longer a quirky underdog just happy to be here. They're a legitimate juggernaut and the clear best team in the country.

Indiana throttles Alabama to reach Peach Bowl

Indiana completely outclassed the storied, traditional power Alabama, giving it a third signature win this season after previously beating No. 5 Oregon Ducks (13-1) — the Hoosiers' semifinal opponent — on the road during the regular season and No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2) in the Big Ten championship game. But none were as thorough as its win over the Tide, who erased a 17-point deficit in the first round at Oklahoma to advance to the quarters.

Alabama didn't have any such luck at mounting another comeback against Indiana, which led 17-0 at the half and opened up a 24-point lead after forcing a three-and-out and scoring a touchdown during the first two series of the third quarter. Overall, the Hoosiers out-gained the Tide, 407-193, gaining more yards on the ground (215) than Alabama had total. Per Stathead, the 35-point margin of defeat was the Tide's largest in a bowl game in program history.

Indiana's offense was at its most efficient against a supposedly tough SEC opponent, scoring touchdowns on five out of six possessions between the second and fourth quarters. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw more touchdowns (three) than incompletions (two).

Defensively, it forced two fumbles and had six tackles for loss. Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was benched after the opening drive of the second half, finishing 12-of-16 for 67 yards (4.2 yards per attempt).

The Hoosiers became the first team with a first-round bye in the 12-team CFP to win in the quarterfinals, showing no rust after a nearly month-long layoff. The dominant performance was the kind we're used to seeing from the sport's blue bloods, including Alabama. But a team with the second-most losses in FBS history? Forget about it.

"I understand why there's been a lot of skeptics," head coach Curt Cignetti said on the podium on the field during the postgame show when discussing Indiana's improbable climb to college football's upper echelon.

It should be hard to find doubters after Thursday. The Hoosiers are only eight quarters away from winning the CFP, and after blowing out Alabama, their biggest competition is themselves. If they play to the standard they've set, no one else stands a chance.