2026 Rose Bowl

2026 Rose Bowl presented by Prudential
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal 112th Rose Bowl Game
Alabama Crimson Tide Indiana Hoosiers (11–3) (13–0) SEC Big Ten 3 38 Head coach:  Kalen DeBoer Head coach:  Curt Cignetti AP Coaches CFP 11 11 9 AP Coaches CFP 1 1 1
1 2 3 4 Total Alabama 0 0 3 0 3 Indiana 0 17 7 14 38
Date	January 1, 2026
Season	2025
Stadium	Rose Bowl
Location	Pasadena, California
Players of the Game	Pat Coogan (Indiana, C) D'Angelo Ponds (Indiana, CB)
Favorite	Indiana by 7.5 [1]
Referee	Kevin Mar (Big 12)
Halftime show	Million Dollar Band and Marching Hundred
Attendance	90,278
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Holly Rowe and Kris Budden (sideline reporters)
Rose Bowl  ← 2025   2027 →

The 2026 Rose Bowl is a college football bowl game that was played on January 1, 2026, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The 112th annual Rose Bowl game was one of the College Football Playoff (CFP) quarterfinals and featured the Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Indiana Hoosiers of the Big Ten Conference. The game began at 1:00 p.m. PST. The Rose Bowl was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season and the winner advanced to the CFP semifinals. ^{[2] [3]} Sponsored by the Prudential financial services company, the game is officially known as the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the 2026 Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential.

Indiana defeated Alabama by a 38–3 score, winning their first Rose Bowl in school history and first bowl game in 34 years. ^[4] It was also their first major bowl game win in school history, as well as their first College Football Playoff game victory in school history.

The start of the game was one hour earlier than its traditional start time of 2 p.m. (local time), to avoid schedule conflict with the Sugar Bowl, in a change expected to carry forward to future editions. ^[5] Magic Johnson, the Rose Parade grand marshal, attended the pre-game coin toss.

Background

The 2026 Rose Bowl was a quarterfinal game for the 2025–26 College Football Playoff (CFP). Indiana, being one of the top four teams in the final CFP rankings, received a bye in the playoff format and was selected to play in a quarterfinal game, the Rose Bowl. ^{[6] [7]}

Alabama, the number 9 seed in the tournament, defeated Oklahoma, the number 8 seed, in the first round, 34–24, to advance to this game. ^[8]

The winning team advanced to the CFP semifinals, to face the winner of the Orange Bowl in the Peach Bowl. ^[9]

	First round					Rose Bowl
						1	Indiana	38
	9	Alabama	34			9	Alabama	3
	8	Oklahoma	24

Teams

This was first-ever meeting between Alabama and Indiana. ^{[10] [11]}

Indiana Hoosiers

Main article: 2025 Indiana Hoosiers football team

This was the second-ever appearance in the Rose Bowl for the Hoosiers, following the 1968 edition, which they lost to eventual national champion USC. ^[7] Indiana entered the game as the Big Ten Conference champions with a 13–0 record (9–0 in conference), their first conference title since 1967. ^[12]

Alabama Crimson Tide

Main article: 2025 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

This was the Crimson Tide's ninth Rose Bowl appearance, with a 5–2–1 record in prior games. Their last appearance came in the 2024 edition, an overtime loss to eventual national champion Michigan, which was Nick Saban’s final game as Alabama head coach. Alabama entered this game with an 11–3 record following its 34–24 first-round win over Oklahoma. This game marked the 100-year anniversary of Alabama’s first trip to the Rose Bowl—in the 1926 edition, they defeated Washington, 20–19, to claim the school's first national championship.

Game summary

2026 Rose Bowl Game

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
(9) No. 9 Alabama	0	0	3	0	3
(1) No. 1 Indiana	0	17	7	14	38

at Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California

• Date: January 1, 2026
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 60 °F (16 °C) • Wind: 3 mph (4.8 km/h) southwest
• Game attendance: 90,278
• Referee: Kevin Mar
• TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Holly Rowe and Kris Budden (sideline reporters)

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Alabama Indiana 2 14:57 16 84 8:55 Indiana 31-yard field goal by Nico Radicic 0 3 2 10:49 4 34 1:47 Indiana Charlie Becker 21-yard touchdown reception from Fernando Mendoza, Nico Radicic kick good 0 10 2 0:17 11 58 2:52 Indiana Omar Cooper Jr. 1-yard touchdown reception from Fernando Mendoza, Nico Radicic kick good 0 17 3 7:46 10 79 5:40 Indiana Elijah Sarratt 24-yard touchdown reception from Fernando Mendoza, Nico Radicic kick good 0 24 3 2:44 9 65 5:02 Alabama 28-yard field goal by Conor Talty 3 24 4 14:21 6 75 3:23 Indiana Kaelon Black 25-yard touchdown run, Nico Radicic kick good 3 31 4 10:33 5 63 2:44 Indiana Roman Hemby 18-yard touchdown run, Nico Radicic kick good 3 38 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 3 38

Statistics

Team statistical comparison Statistic Alabama Indiana First downs 11 22 First downs rushing 2 14 First downs passing 9 7 First downs penalty 0 1 Third down efficiency 3–11 9–14 Fourth down efficiency 0–2 0–0 Total plays–net yards 50–193 66–407 Rushing attempts–net yards 17–23 50–215 Yards per rush 1.4 4.3 Yards passing 170 192 Pass completions–attempts 24–33 14–16 Interceptions thrown 0 0 Punt returns–total yards 0–0 2–16 Kickoff returns–total yards 1–14 0–0 Punts–average yardage 4–43.0 2–41.5 Fumbles–lost 2–1 0–0 Penalties–yards 1–5 1–10 Time of possession 25:39 34:21

Alabama statistics Crimson Tide passing C–A Yds TD–INT Austin Mack 11–16 103 0–0 Ty Simpson 12–16 67 0–0 Daniel Hill 1–1 0 0–0 Crimson Tide rushing Car Yds TD Ty Simpson 3 17 0 Daniel Hill 5 13 0 Kevin Riley 3 2 0 TEAM 1 −1 0 Austin Mack 5 −8 0 Crimson Tide receiving Rec Yds TD Germie Bernard 4 60 0 Ryan Williams 6 53 0 Josh Cuevas 4 35 0 Isaiah Horton 2 16 0 Daniel Hill 7 5 0 Jam Miller 1 1 0

Indiana statistics Hoosiers passing C–A Yds TD–INT Fernando Mendoza 14–16 192 3–0 Hoosiers rushing Car Yds TD Kaelon Black 15 99 1 Roman Hemby 18 89 1 Fernando Mendoza 8 16 0 Khobie Martin 4 11 0 Alberto Mendoza 2 6 0 TEAM 3 −6 0 Hoosiers receiving Rec Yds TD Charlie Becker 2 51 1 Omar Cooper Jr. 3 45 1 Elijah Sarratt 4 40 1 Riley Nowakowski 3 36 0 Kaelon Black 1 11 0 E.J. Williams Jr. 1 9 0

References

1. "Alabama vs. Indiana (Jan 1, 2026)". ESPN.com . Archived from the original on December 20, 2025. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
2. "2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule, dates, TV channel, sites". NCAA.com. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
3. "College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
4. Beacham, Greg (January 1, 2026). "Top-seeded Indiana routs Alabama 38-3 for its first Rose Bowl victory, roaring into CFP semifinals". WCVB-TV . AP . Retrieved January 1, 2026.
5. Dochterman, Scott; Vannini, Chris (April 22, 2025). "CFP Moves Rose Bowl Kickoff Time Up One Hour: What Does It Mean for the Famous Sunset?". The Athletic . Archived from the original on August 2, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
6. "Indiana To Face Oklahoma-Alabama Winner in Rose Bowl Game". Pasadena Now. December 7, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
7. "Big Ten champion Indiana is headed to the Rose Bowl to face CFP quarterfinal winner". LA Times. December 7, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
8. Elmore, Josiah (December 19, 2025). "Alabama roars back to beat Oklahoma, advances to Rose Bowl". WHNT-TV. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
9. "Alabama Secures 2026 Rose Bowl Berth; Crimson Tide to Face No. 1 Indiana on New Year's Day". Pasadena Now. December 20, 2025. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
10. Norton, Norton (December 20, 2025). "Indiana football opens as favorite over Alabama in the Rose Bowl". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
11. Fiutak, Pete (December 20, 2025). "2026 Rose Bowl Prediction: Alabama vs Indiana CFP Quarterfinal". College Football News. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
12. "No. 2 Indiana beats No. 1 Ohio St. 13-10, winning first Big Ten title since 1967". NBC News. December 6, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.

External links

• Game statistics at statbroadcast.com