Hoosiers Redefine CFP Travel: Indiana Fans Pack Rose, Peach Bowl. Yes, Miami Was Praying For Crimson Invasion

ATLANTA— Indiana fans should be thanked by the local commerce committees in Pasadena and Atlanta after showing up over the past two weeks of the college football playoff, while scooping up a majority of the tickets, making Atlanta feel very much like an away game for the Oregon Ducks. 

While there was a strong argument to make for the playoff committee rotating teams that advance to the semifinals to a more geographic-friendly location, I don't expect the folks in California or Georgia to be complaining. 

By the time Indiana fans got comfortable in their seats, the Hoosiers already led 21-7. By halftime, this game was over, with Indiana leading 35-7 and a crowd already planning for a trip to Miami. 

NCAA Makes Decision On Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, Likely Headed For Courtroom

Maybe we should've seen this coming from Hoosier fans, who essentially bought up 90 percent of the tickets for each of the past two games. In what could only be described as an on-campus home game that had a visitors' allotment for Oregon fans, Mercedes-Benz Stadium was packed to the brim with Crimson. 

Is this a good thing? You can be the judge on that one, given Ole Miss fans looked to have had nearly 50,000 fans at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night just outside the Phoenix area. And yes, not taking anything away from Miami fans, but it was clear that they were tired of spending money on travel. 

Remember, the Hurricanes opened the college football playoff with a game in College Station. Then, they traveled to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl, making those two trips to the state of Texas in twelve days. Heck, I don't blame them one bit for not spending the money to travel out west, especially with the chance of hosting a national championship game on the horizon. 

On the first play from scrimmage, D'Angelo Pounds took a Dante Moore interception to the house, giving Indiana a touchdown lead that shook Mercedes-Benz Stadium. If you were a Peach Bowl committee member, you had to smile when looking up in the corner spots of the upper-deck and not seeing empty seats. 

Indiana Hoosiers Start Off Peach Bowl With Electric Pick-Six

And yes, the Hoosiers deserved the crowd advantage, especially when you take in CFP seeding. But, I can promise you CFP members were praying to whichever God they worshiped for Indiana to make the national championship game. 

Miami Braces For Crimson Invasion? Hurricanes Home Game Works Out

After Miami defeated Ole Miss, I would imagine hotel and restaurant owners were not thrilled about the fact that, for the first time since 1991, a team will play in its home stadium for a title. This means local commerce members will be relying on the opposing fan base to mostly secure hotel reservations in South Florida.

Could the CFP committee fix this? I mean, potentially. If there was a way to have had Ole Miss playing Oregon in the first semifinal, then put Miami and Indiana in the second semifinal, it would've logistically made a bit more sense. Though, I understand the arguments that the Rebels could've made. 

Hoosiers Redefine CFP Travel: Indiana Fans Pack Rose, Peach Bowl. Yes, Miami Was Praying For Crimson Invasion Via: Trey Wallace

Maybe we see some type of changes when the new format is agreed upon by the CFP committee, which would first be approved by the SEC and Big Ten due to a signed agreement giving them overall power. 

But Friday night in Atlanta, in a house that usually hosts Alabama or Georgia, Indiana fans made it their temporary home. As for the party, it was going to be a lucrative night for bartenders across the metro Atlanta area. 

Well done, Hoosiers.