GAME 14
The Rose Bowl Game | College Football Playoff Quarterfinal
No. 11/11/9 Alabama (11-3, 7-1 SEC) vs. No. 1/1/1 Indiana (13-0, 9-0 B1G)
Thursday, January 1, 2026
Rose Bowl Stadium | Pasadena, Calif.
Setting The Scene
• No. 1/1/1 Indiana will face No. 11/11/9 Alabama in Rose Bowl Game as part of the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals on Thursday (Jan. 1) at 4 p.m. inside Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California on ESPN.
• The game marks Indiana’s first appearance in the Rose Bowl Game since 1968. In that contest, USC defeated Indiana, 14-3.
• While it is Indiana’s second ever Rose Bowl Game appearance, the Hoosiers did play in Rose Bowl Stadium in 2024 when they defeated UCLA, 42-13. The Week 3 win was Curt Cignetti’s first Big Ten win as Indiana head coach.
• This will be the first meeting in program history between Indiana and Alabama.
• Cignetti coached the wide receivers and was the recruiting coordinator for Alabama in 2007-10 and Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Indiana in 2019.
News & Notes
• Indiana won its third-ever Big Ten Championship (1967, 1945) and first out-right title since 1945 when it defeated Ohio State, 13-10, in the Big Ten Championship Game (12/6) in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Indiana’s defense is the only Power 4 unit in the country to pile up 100-plus tackles for loss and rank top-20 in scoring (10.8), rushing (77.6), passing (179.5) and total (257.2) defense categories.
• On offense, the Hoosiers are one of three Power 4 programs that have 2,500 rushing yards and 3,000 passing yards on the season. Indiana (2,875 rush, 3,271 pass) are joined by Florida State (2,624 rush, 3,041 pass) and Oregon (2,822 rush, 3,274 pass) entering the CFP quarterfinals.
• Following the Big Ten Championship win, Indiana moved to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, the Associated Press Poll and USA Today/US LBM Coaches Poll for the first time in program history.
• The 24 victories since the beginning of the 2024 season are the most in any two-year span in program history and rank tied for No. 3 nationally in that time. The 17 Big Ten wins during that span are also the most in a two-year stretch in IU history. MORE ON PAGE 4
• Curt Cignetti’s 24 victories in his first two seasons at Indiana are tied for the most in Big Ten history by a coach in his first two seasons at a school. He is tied with only Urban Meyer (24, 2012-13; Ohio State).
• Indiana had its first perfect regular season in program history with a 12-0 record and is 13-0 for the first time after the Big Ten Championship Game. The only other IU team to finish without a loss is the 1945 team at 9-0-1. The 13 victories are the most in a single season.
• The Hoosiers are 44-27-1 all-time as a ranked team, which includes a 1-3 record on a neutral site.
• Head coach Curt Cignetti started a season at least 10-0 for the third-straight season, after he started back-to-back seasons at 10-0 (Indiana, 2024; James Madison, 2023) and has at IU at 13-0 entering the Rose Bowl Game.
• Seventeen different Hoosiers were recognized on the All-Big Ten Teams (including both the coaches & media) and seven individual awards won. MORE ON PAGE 5
• Fernando Mendoza threw one touchdown passes in the Big Ten Championship Game win over the Buckeyes to move him to 33 on the year, the most of any Hoosier in a single season and is No. 1 in the FBS and Big Ten. He also is the national leader in touchdowns accounted for (39) MORE ON PAGE 7
• Elijah Sarratt leads the Big Ten with 12 touchdown receptions and Omar Cooper Jr. is tied for No. 2 with 11 touchdown receptions with Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) and Makai Lemon (USC). The Hoosier duo is also among the top-5 of the program’s career receiving touchdowns charts. MORE ON PAGE 9
• Rolijah Hardy has logged 10 tackles in back-to-back games and ranks No. 5 in the Big Ten in sacks (8.0).
COMPLETE GAME NOTES: https://static.iuhoosiers.com/custompages/PDF/fb/2025/26-01-01-Notes_Alabama.pdf
ALABAMA GAME NOTES:
JAN. 1, 2026 / 3:10 P.M. CT / PASADENA, CALIF. ROSE BOWL STADIUM (92,542) TV: ESPN (Play-By-Play: Chris Fowler, Analyst: Kirk Herbstreit, Sideline: Kris Budden, Holly Rowe) RADIO: CRIMSON TIDE SPORTS NETWORK (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Analyst: Tyler Watts, Sideline: Cory Reamer, Host: Roger Hoover) CTSN on Sirius/XM: 82 NATIONAL RADIO: ESPN RADIO (Play-By-Play: Marc Kestecher, Analyst: Kelly Stouffer, Sideline: Ian Fitzsimmons)
Overall: First Meeting In College Football Playoff: N/A Current Streak: N/A Last Meeting: N/A Series Notes: Alabama and Indiana will be meeting for the first time in the history of the two programs when the Crimson Tide and Hoosiers square off in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. The Thursday contest in Pasadena will mark the Tide’s ninth appearance in the Rose Bowl Game, with UA holding a 5-2-1 mark in the previous eight pairings.
10-WIN PLATEAU: Alabama secured its 10th win of the 2025 season following the Tide’s 27-20 victory at Auburn on Nov. 29, marking UA’s 17th 10-win season over the last 18 years. In the 16 previous 10-plus win seasons, the Crimson Tide finished with a 12-2 record in 2008, 2014 and 2023; 14-0 in 2009; 10-3 in 2010; 12-1 in 2011; 13-1 in 2012 and 2017; 11-2 in 2013, 2019 and 2022; 14-1 in 2015, 2016 and 2018; and 13-0 in 2020. GOING BACK TO CALI: The Crimson Tide’s appearance in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026, will be the program’s 13th game played in the state of California. Alabama holds an 8-3-1 (.708) record in The Golden State. 100 YEARS OF THE ROSE BOWL: This season’s matchup with top-ranked Indiana on Jan. 1, 2026, will mark the 100-year anniversary of Alabama’s first appearance in the Granddaddy of Them All. The Crimson Tide made its inaugural appearance in Pasadena on Jan. 1, 1926, when the Tide downed the heavily favored Washington Huskies by a score of 20-19 to claim the program’s first national championship. ALABAMA IN THE ROSE BOWL: Alabama has been a part of eight total Rose Bowl matchups, holding a 5-2- 1 (.688) mark in those games. The Crimson Tide has played seven of those contests in Pasadena with the eighth occurring in Arlington, Texas, at AT&T Stadium on Jan. 1, 2021 as part of the College Football Playoff Semifinal. Texas played host to the Rose Bowl in 2021 due to a global pandemic.
NEUTRAL SITES: Alabama is 99-54-4 (.643) all-time in 157 neutral site contests. The list includes all Alabama-Auburn games not played on campus, including Legion Field from 1948-88. Head coach Kalen DeBoer has produced a 4-3 record in seven career neutral site games at the FBS level. ALABAMA vs. No. 1: Alabama owns the NCAA record for the most wins all-time against the Associated Press Poll’s No. 1 team since the poll was introduced in 1936. The Crimson Tide has compiled 11 wins against the AP’s top-ranked team in program history, most recently against then-No. 1 Georgia in the 2023 Southeastern Conference Championship Game.
AGAINST THE TOP 10: Alabama owns an 88-81-1 (.520) all-time record against teams ranked in the top-10 of the Associated Press Poll, including the Tide’s 24-21 win at then-No. 5 Georgia on Sept. 27 and a 34-24 victory at then-No. 8 Oklahoma on Dec. 19. Since the start of the 2008 season, the Crimson Tide has posted a 39-15 (.722) overall record against top-10 teams, including a 24-9 (.727) mark versus the top 10 since the inception of the College Football Playoff. ALABAMA vs. THE BIG TEN: The Crimson Tide is 42-19 (.688) all-time against the current member teams of the Big Ten Conference, including a 38-14 win against Wisconsin on Sept. 13. Alabama owns a winning record against 10 of the 13 total Big Ten teams that the Tide has matched up with, appended by a 3-4 mark against Michigan, an 0-1 mark against Minnesota and a 1-2 record against UCLA. The Tide’s most frequent opponent is Penn State, with UA owning a 10-5 (.667) advantage in 15 contests with the Nittany Lions. Alabama has never faced Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Oregon or Purdue in its history. DEBOER AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS: Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is 20-5 (.800) across 25 career matchups with teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including an impressive 7-2 (.778) mark against top-10 teams as well as a perfect 4-0 record on the road against top-10 opponents. In 11 games since arriving at Alabama, DeBoer owns an 8-3 (.727) record against AP Top 25 foes. That mark includes five ranked wins this season: at then-No. 5 Georgia on Sept. 27 (24-21); vs. then-No. 16 Vanderbilt on Oct. 4 (30-14); at then-No. 14 Missouri on Oct. 11 (27-24); vs. then-No. 11 Tennessee (37-20); and at then-No. 8 Oklahoma on Dec. 19 (34-24). Last season, Alabama produced three AP Top 25 wins including his first with the Crimson Tide, a 41-34 win over then-No. 2 Georgia on Sept. 28.
RANKED AGAINST RANKED: Head coach Kalen DeBoer owns a 16-4 (.800) record in 20 career games as a head coach in ranked-versus-ranked matchups at the Division I level. DeBoer’s .800 winning percentage stands as the best winning percentage among all active head coaches that have appeared in at least 10 ranked-versusranked matchups. TIDE TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS: Alabama produced four consecutive victories over Associated Press Top 25 conference opponents in as many weeks following the Tide’s 37-20 win over then-No. 11 Tennessee on Oct. 18. UA’s streak of ranked wins over SEC foes also included a 27-24 win at then-No. 14 Missouri on Oct. 11, a 30-14 win over then-No. 16 Vanderbilt on Oct. 4 and a 24-21 victory at then-No. 5 Georgia on Sept. 27. The Crimson Tide is the first team in SEC history to defeat four straight ranked opponents with no open dates. Alabama also became the fourth team in SEC history to defeat four consecutive ranked opponents including open dates, with the Tide also accomplishing the feat in 2016. ALABAMA IN THE AP POLL: The Crimson Tide’s No. 11 ranking in the Week 16 edition of the Associated Press Poll marked the 294th consecutive week that the Crimson Tide has appeared in the poll. That streak is the longest active streak in college football. The 294 weeks more than doubles second-place Georgia with the Bulldogs appearing in the poll for 148 consecutive weeks. Alabama’s 294 straight weeks tops the Crimson Tide’s previous program-long streak of 105 consecutive weeks under head coach Gene Stallings in the mid1990s. ALABAMA IN THE AP SINCE 2008: Alabama began the 2008 season at No. 24 in the Associated Press Preseason Poll. The Crimson Tide opened the year with a dominant 34-10 win over then-No. 9 Clemson in Atlanta, and since that win over the Tigers, UA has not exited the 293 polls that have followed. According to the College Poll Archive, the Tide is the only team to be represented on all 294 editions of the poll from the start of the 2008 season to the current week. The next closest team is Ohio State with 279 appearances followed by Oklahoma at 260. Alabama has spent 91.5 percent of the 18-plus years ranked in the top 10. A whopping 76.2 percent of that time Alabama has been ranked in the top five. The Crimson Tide has also been ranked No. 1 a total of 110 times since 2008. Only 16 other teams have earned the No. 1 ranking over that time, with the second-most appearances coming from Georgia at 40, while Ohio State owns the third-most appearances at 27. ALABAMA HAS THE MOST WINS SINCE 2008: Dating back to the start of the 2008 season, Alabama has won 219 games, which is the most in the Football Bowl Subdivision. That sum is 15 more than Ohio State, who owns the next-closest win total over that stretch at 204.
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