Indiana rolls past Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl

Inside the historic Rose Bowl stadium, No. 1 Indiana devastated No. 9 Alabama 38-3 in the CFP quarterfinal. The Hoosiers advance to the CFP semifinals where they will face Oregon on Jan. 9 in the Peach Bowl. 

After torrential downpours all day in Pasadena, the Hoosiers jumped to a 17-0 lead on a muddy field entering halftime. The Indiana defense held the Tide’s goose egg until a 31-yard field goal that put Alabama on the board in the third. 

A devastating blow just before half caused Alabama’s Ty Simpson to be benched in the third, giving sophomore Austin Mack the reigns to attempt the Tide comeback. 

But the Hoosiers capitalized on this Alabama set back, tacking on three more trips to the endzone with two on the ground and one by air to seal the 38-3 victory. 

2025 Heisman winner Fernando Mendozo went 14 of 16 with 192 yards and three touchdowns while the Hoosier running back duo in Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black combined for 188 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Indiana defense earned its flowers too, holding the Tide to just 23-yards rushing while boasting six TFLs and two forced fumbles. 

Indiana’s win marks its first bowl victory since 1991 in a 24-0 triumph over Baylor and hands Alabama’s it's biggest defeat since a 42-6 loss to Arkansas in 1998. 

The Hoosiers’ continued to their dominate 2025 campaign to extend their undefeated season and prove their No. 1 seed headed into the CFP. 

The Tide can't seem to stop a rolling Indiana team, devastating the Crimson defense each drive touting as much force as the last. 

To extend the vast lead with 10 minutes left in the game, Fernando Mendoza handed off to Hoosier back Robert Hemby for a 18-yard touchdown rush up the middle. 

Kaelon Black scurried up the middle for a 25-yard rushing touchdown to propel Indiana's lead 31-3 over the Tide in the first drive of the fourth. The Hoosiers are staring at their first bowl win since 1991 with 14:21 left in the game. 

Kaelon Black HOUSE CALL for the TOUCHDOWN 🚨

— Aggregate Sports (@AggregateSports)

With Austin Mack leading the Tide's offense, Alabama was able to capitalize on its second drive of the third quarter with a 31-yard field goal knocked in by Conor Talty. 

Alabama erases the goose egg on the board with the kick, but still trails Indiana 24-3. 

Coming out of halftime, the Hoosier defense shut down a driving Alabama offense hoping to ignite a spark, giving Indiana the ball at the 21-yard line.

Fernado Mendoza connected deep left with Elijah Sarratt for a 24-yard touchdown snag to cap a nine play, 79-yard drive. The Hoosiers stand at 24-0 with 7:46 left in the third quarter. 

Hoosiers tack on six‼️

📺: ESPN x x

— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff)

We are 30 minutes deep into the 112th Rose Bowl, and it has been all Hoosiers so far. The CFP's top seed has yet to slow down, with Fernando Mendoza tossing his second touchdown of the game just before the half to wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr, his 12th touchdown of the season. 

17-0 INDIANA 🔴⚪️

— CFB Kings (@CFBKings)

Indiana's dominated on both sides of the ball, leading Alabama in total yards 179 to 93. The Crimson Tide averaged 380 this season.

Both scores have been the result of great defensive possessions led by linebacker Isaiah Jones, who made a big tackle on fourth down to stop Alabama and recovering quarterback Ty Simpson's fumble.

Indiana nailed a 31-yard field goal by Nicolas Radicic to start the second quarter, opening up the scoring for the contest and taking a 3-0 lead. 

And the momentum didn't stop there. The defense stifled Alabama's aggressive fourth down play call in their own territory. Linebacker Isiah Jones read it perfectly, making the tackle to set up the Hoosiers with great starting position. 

Indiana gets a huge 4th down stop

— NextPlay (@NextPlayCFB)

15 minutes have gone by in the Rose Bowl and points have yet to be put on the board between No. 1 Indiana and No. 9 Alabama.

Defense has been the story as both teams were forced to punt on there first drives of the game. However, Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza has started to heat up going 6-6 for 55 yards passing on Indiana's last drive. They are currently set up for a 31-yard field goal attempt.

Here's a look at the three offensive possessions in the first quarter.

We enter this quarterfinal matchup with a blank slate historically as the two programs have never faced off on the gridiron. But as odd as it is to say, Alabama has a tall task ahead as it looks to knock off top-seeded Indiana in the College Football Playoff. 

Here is a preview of the Rose Bowl, including how each team arrived in Pasadena:

🔴⚪️ Indiana (13-0)

The Hoosiers are the team to beat. We kicked off the college football season in August with 136 FBS teams looking to go undefeated. Fast forward to late-December, Indiana is the last undefeated remaining. In football. Indiana. I know.

It might sound odd, but what Curt Cignetti has done with this program in two years is arguably the best turnaround college football has ever seen. The Hoosiers have 24 wins in two years with Cignetti. In the five years before Cignetti, Indiana had 23 wins. Indiana has 17 Big Ten wins the past two years. They had 16 total in the six years prior. From 2000-2024, the Hoosiers had three winning seasons, one of which came in the Covid-shortened 2020 season. From 1995 to 2018, Indiana never breached the AP poll. The list can go on, but I think the point is made. This is not normal. 

And last year, there was speculation on whether Indiana was the real deal or not, only playing in one ranked game in 2024 against Ohio State and losing by 23. But this season is undeniable. The Hoosiers walked into Autzen Stadium and ended Oregon's 18-game home win streak midway through the season before capping off their CFP resume with a win over previously undefeated and reigning champions Ohio State. 

The results speak for themselves, the name might just take a second to get used too. 

As Cignetti said in his interview after taking the Indiana job in December 2023, "It's pretty simple. I win. Google me." Here we are two years later with the 13-0 Hoosiers led by Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza. 

The Hoosiers are near the top of pretty much every major statistical category in the nation including scoring offense (3rd), scoring defense (2nd), total offense (8th), total defense (4th), 3rd down conversion rate (1st), 3rd down conversion rate allowed (2nd) and turnover margin (2nd). Yes, that's a lot of stats, but it shows how consistent the Hoosiers have been on both sides of the ball. Its hard to identify a weakness. 

🐘 Alabama (11-3)

We've talked about the history of Indiana, but there's no need to really touch on the Tide's program. Their accolades speak for themselves. This matchup is David versus Goliath, historically speaking. But obviously, in 2025, this comparison does not play. Nevertheless, you certainly can't count the Tide out. 

Kalen DeBoer's squad is coming off an electric comeback over Oklahoma in the CFP first round, down three scores before storming back to a 34-24 win in Norman.

Alabama's season has been a rollercoaster, falling Week 1 to Florida State before snapping Georgia's 33-game home win streak three weeks later. The Tide rattled off four consecutive ranked wins between September and October, climbing as high as No. 4 in the AP poll. But a home loss to Oklahoma in mid-November sent Alabama fans back down the ride as their CFP hopes were uncertain. 

A close road win in Jordan-Hare Stadium over arch-rival Auburn secured a spot for DeBoer's squad in the SEC championship where Georgia avenged its regular season loss in dominant fashion, as the Tide fell 28-7 in Atlanta. Still, Alabama secured the second-to-last at-large bid for its first 12-team CFP berth. 

Early-season Heisman frontrunner Ty Simpson saw his season ebb and flow with the Tide's schedule, shining in big moments early on like in the Georgia and Vanderbilt games, but losing his Heisman steam down the stretch. 

The first round win over Oklahoma was unchartered territory for the Tide, facing their largest deficit of the season (17), but the win proved Alabama could play from behind, overcoming the largest deficit in CFP history. The SEC championship certainly left a bad taste in Tuscaloosa, but the first round win could very well reinvigorate a squad that is flooded with talent on both sides of the ball. 

Alabama doesn't have any eye-popping national ranks the same way the Hoosiers do, but it's never smart to count out the Crimson in postseason play. We should be in store for a great afternoon matchup between two of the most historically opposite programs in CFP history. 

Here is the 2025 College Football Playoff bracket entering the quarterfinal round:

Just 12.9 percent of brackets went 4 for 4 in the first round in krikya98.com's College Football Bracket Challenge Game. Alabama was picked to win their first round matchup against Oklahoma in 50.39% of brackets — the closest pick split of any first round matchup by a wide margin. 

Indiana was the most-picked national champion, selected in 28.11% of brackets, while Alabama was chosen to take home the title in just 3.55%. 

👉 Click or tap here to see which teams are being picked the most