Indiana vs Alabama Rose Bowl Sets Viewership Record

If they hadn't already, the top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers put the college football world on notice Thursday at the Rose Bowl by manhandling No. 9 Alabama in a 38-3 victory in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

A record 22.5 million viewers tuned in, good for the largest audience ever for a 12-team CFP era broadcast and the best rating for all CFP quarterfinal games.

The most-watched broadcast of the 12-team playoff era. pic.twitter.com/yH3qftPMM6
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) January 3, 2026

Even more impressive, only four CFP semifinal games have drawn more viewers than the Indiana vs. Alabama Rose Bowl. That includes the 2015 Sugar Bowl between Ohio State and Alabama (28.2 million) and the Rose Bowl games from 2015, 2018 and 2024, which each drew at least 27 million viewers.

Thursday's game also surpassed the viewership numbers from the 2021, 2023 and 2025 national championship games. It may have also exceeded the 2022 national title game's viewership of 22,564,000, though a full number has not yet been released. In years when the Rose Bowl has been part of the CFP, the 2026 edition ranks fourth out of six games in viewership.

On the field, Indiana certainly enhanced a trend in recent college football seasons that the Big Ten has surpassed the SEC. The Big Ten has won the last two national championships, thanks to Michigan and Ohio State, and it's guaranteed to send either Indiana or Oregon to the 2026 title game. The SEC won four straight national championships from 2020-23, but now their last hope is No. 6 Ole Miss, which knocked out Georgia shortly after Alabama's elimination.

Indiana turned out to be a total mismatch for Alabama, outgaining the title 410-193 in total yards. The Hoosiers also had 22 first downs to Alabama's 11, and dominated time of position by roughly nine minutes. Alabama rushed for just 23 yards on 17 attempts, while the Hoosiers wore them out by the second half with 50 rushes for 218 yards.

"I think that's what you would always love to see as the head coach," Curt Cignetti said. "Things we used to preach when I was at Alabama, about changing the way they think, breaking their will, and that's the best way to do it, running the football. It takes a while. It doesn't happen in the first quarter, the second quarter, it happens in the second half at some point, hopefully, when you're able to achieve that goal. And I thought our line did a nice job. I thought our backs really ran hard, and I'm sure there were some nice blocks down field too, but the backs, I was really impressed with how hard they ran."

That sets up highly anticipated CFP semifinal matchup on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET between No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.

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