Indiana Football to Face Alabama in Rose Bowl: Early Odds, TV, Date

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For 12 days, Indiana football's first appearance in the Rose Bowl Game since 1968 has only had a time, date and location. Now, the Hoosiers have an opponent.

No. 1 Indiana (13-0) will face No. 9 Alabama (11-3) at 4 p.m. ET on Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Crimson Tide defeated the Sooners, 34-24, on Friday night at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.

Oklahoma jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter, but Alabama scored 17 points in the final seven minutes of the first half to draw even at halftime. The Crimson Tide outscored the Sooners, 10-0, in the third quarter and carried a 27-17 edge into the fourth quarter.

The Sooners scored a touchdown on the second play of the final quarter to pull within 27-24, but Alabama scored a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to extend its lead to two possessions. Oklahoma

Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell's 36-yard field goal faded wide left with just under three minutes remaining, and his 51-yard field goal came up short with just over minute left, preventing the Sooners from ever trimming their deficit to one possession.

Thus, Indiana and Alabama will meet for the first time on one of the sport's biggest stages.

Indiana and Alabama played one common opponent this season: Wisconsin. The Hoosiers defeated the Badgers, 31-7, on Nov. 15 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, while the Crimson Tide earned a 38-14 win on Sept. 13 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Cignetti faces old team — as will several Alabama coaches

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said the most important years of his formative coaching career came from 2007-10, when he was an assistant on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama. Cignetti served as the Crimson Tide's receivers coach and recruiting coordinator before starting his head coaching career in 2011 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Alabama's staff has significant ties to Indiana, too.

Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer was Indiana's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2019, while Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack was the Hoosiers' linebackers coach in 2018 and added the defensive coordinator title in 2019-20.

Alabama director of sports performance David Ballou held the same role at Indiana from 2018-20.

Betting details

DraftKings Sportsbook released hypothetical odds for Indiana vs. Alabama on Tuesday, and the Hoosiers opened as 6.5-point favorites. No money-line odds or player prop bets were available upon initial release.

It's worth noting Indiana was 9.5-point favorites in a hypothetical matchup with Oklahoma.

Rose Bowl details

Who: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 9 Alabama
Where: Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California
When: Jan. 1, 2026
Television channel: ESPN