No. 1 Indiana returns to the Rose Bowl for first time since 1968 to take on CFP stalwart Alabama

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No. 11 Alabama (11-3, CFP No. 9 seed) vs. No. 1 Indiana (13-0, CFP No. 1 seed), Thursday, 4 p.m. EST (ESPN)

BetMGM Sportsbook College Football Odds: Indiana by 7.

Series record: First meeting.

Undefeated Big Ten champion Indiana is playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time since Jan. 1, 1968, and finds itself three wins away from cementing the unlikeliest rise in recent college football history with a national title. The Hoosiers are in the CFP for the season straight season, having lost 27-17 at Notre Dame in the first round last year. Alabama is making its ninth CFP appearance but first under coach Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide rallied from a 17-point deficit to win at Oklahoma on Dec. 19 to reach “The Granddaddy of Them All” for the ninth time, not including a BCS championship game victory in Pasadena, California, following the 2009 season. The winner advances to the CFP semifinals to play the Orange Bowl winner, No. 4 seed Texas Tech or No. 5 seed Oregon, in the Peach Bowl.

Alabama running back Jam Miller vs. Indiana linebackers Aiden Fisher and Rolijah Hardy. The Crimson Tide managed to advance despite running for 28 yards against the Sooners, with Miller managing just 11 yards on seven carries in his return from a leg injury sustained in the Iron Bowl. Miller has a team-high 504 yards rushing with three touchdowns while missing time because of various ailments, but indicated he is the healthiest he has been all season long. If Miller cannot establish some semblance of a ground game against Hardy (86 tackles, 13 tackles for loss) and Fisher (77 tackles, seven tackles for loss), Indiana’s outstanding defense will be able to unleash its devastating pass rush.

Alabama: QB Ty Simpson leads the SEC with 3,500 yards passing and 28 touchdowns in his first season as the Crimson Tide’s starter. He was 18 of 29 for 232 yards and two touchdowns against Oklahoma but took four sacks, Simpson’s seventh game where he was sacked at least three times.

Indiana: QB Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 2,980 yards and a school single-season record 33 touchdowns. The potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft, Mendoza spent three seasons at California before transferring to Indiana.

Alabama’s last appearance in the Rose Bowl was in 2024, a 27-20 overtime loss to eventual national champion Michigan in what would be head coach Nick Saban’s final game. … Indiana RB Roman Hemby is one of two FBS active players with 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in his career. … The Crimson Tide is 2-0 against Heisman Trophy winners in bowl games, knocking off Miami QB Gino Torretta in the 1992 Sugar Bowl and Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray in the 2018 Orange Bowl. … The Hoosiers lead the country in third down conversion rate at 55.8%. … Alabama has a record 11 wins all-time against AP No. 1 ranked teams. … Indiana DE Stephen Daley will not play after sustaining a serious leg injury celebrating the Big Ten championship game win over Ohio State. Daley ranks second in the FBS in tackles for loss (19).

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