Rose Bowl MVP Pat Coogan has full circle moment in Indiana's CFP semifinal rout of Oregon in Atlanta

Key Highlights

• He had one year of eligibility remaining, but there was a chance his starting spot would not be there for him once the Irish line got fully healthy for 2025.
• The disappointment of losing to Ohio State was multiplied by the fact that he might not wear that gold helmet ever again. After his exit interview with Freeman a few days later, it was clear ND saw him as a reserve, and Coogan left his beloved Irish.“They valued me as a person, leader and member of the team,” Coogan told The Herald-Times.
• “But not as a football player, a talent on the roster.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFast forward almost exactly 12 months, and Coogan was in the same stadium, in the College Football Playoff again, a starting center again and a team leader again.
• This time, he was wearing the crimson and cream of Indiana, and he felt nothing but joy at the end of his four quarters. No.
• 1 Indiana obliterated No.