01/01/26 12:53:00
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01/01 12:51 CST Unbeaten Indiana and underdog Alabama are ready to roll in a
rain-soaked Rose Bowl
Unbeaten Indiana and underdog Alabama are ready to roll in a rain-soaked Rose
Bowl
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) --- The rain-soaked Rose Bowl is ready to host a
surprising No. 1 team and a blue-blood underdog in the 112th edition of The
Granddaddy of Them All.
Top-seeded Indiana (13-0) begins its College Football Playoff quest for the
first national title in school history when the Hoosiers play in the Rose Bowl
on Thursday for the first time since 1968.
Their opponent is Alabama (11-3, CFP No. 9 seed), which is back in the Rose
Bowl for the second time in three years after an impressive road victory over
Oklahoma to open the Crimson Tide's first CFP appearance under coach Kalen
DeBoer.
Indiana has made a monumental turnaround during the two seasons since coach
Curt Cignetti took over what was the losingest program in college football at
the time. After winning 11 games and reaching the CFP last season, the Hoosiers
steamrolled through their schedule this fall before beating defending national
champion Ohio State for the Big Ten Conference championship and ascending to
the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 for the first time.
Three hours before kickoff, the Rose Bowl canceled all of the traditional
on-field activities before the coin flip in a bid to preserve the turf. Both
bands will perform their pregame shows in the stands, and the Rose Parade
dignitaries --- including Grand Marshal Magic Johnson --- will watch from the
sidelines.
A win in Pasadena would be another landmark achievement for Cignetti and
quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the first Heisman Trophy winner in school history.
Alabama has won more landmark games than any other school in the CFP era,
claiming three national titles and reaching three other championship games
during Nick Saban's remarkable tenure. Saban actually coached his final game at
Alabama in Pasadena exactly two years ago, losing an overtime heartbreaker to
Michigan in the CFP semifinals.
The Hoosiers are favored, but the Crimson Tide have their usual bumper crop of
talent as they attempt to pull off an upset. Alabama's up-and-down season began
with a loss to Florida State and included a blowout defeat by Georgia in the
SEC title game, but quarterback Ty Simpson and a gifted defense roared from
behind to take down the Sooners in Norman before the holidays.
The teams are meeting during a rare stretch of sustained rain in Southern
California, which was drenched throughout the Christmas break. Rain began to
fall in earnest again in Pasadena on Wednesday, and it continued steadily into
2026 on Thursday morning, when parking lots quickly became waterlogged and
stadium concourses required special drainage measures.
But the famed Rose Bowl turf was covered during the storm, and it looked as
pristine as ever when it was uncovered Thursday morning.
There's another unusual factor in this edition of the Rose Bowl: It's starting
at 1 p.m., an hour earlier than the customary 2 p.m. Pacific kickoff. That
means the storied sunset against the San Gabriel Mountains won't happen early
in the fourth quarter as usual --- but thanks to the steady rain and low cloud
cover in Arroyo Seco, those famed mountains weren't even visible Thursday
morning anyway.
The winner of the Rose Bowl moves on to the CFP semifinal at the Peach Bowl
next weekend in Atlanta.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/college-football
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