Another week has passed as No. 1 Indiana inches closer to its long-awaited Rose Bowl showdown. The Hoosiers spent that time in limbo, patiently awaiting the conclusion of the first round of the College Football Playoff to learn who would stand across from them in Pasadena. While the extra week of rest has offered clear benefits, head coach Curt Cignetti admitted the extended wait was not entirely ideal.
“The way we approached it until we knew the opponent, we treated it like two bye weeks,” Cignetti said during his Monday press conference ahead of the Rose Bowl. “Now we have almost two weeks to prepare for the opponent. Would I prefer to play earlier? Yeah, I probably would, to be quite honest with you. But that’s not the case. We’re excited about playing. We’re off to a good start, and it will be a tremendous challenge.”
Despite the delay, the downtime has paid dividends for Indiana. The extra rest has allowed players to recover physically while diving deeper into film study and fine-tuning areas for improvement. Still, like most teams at this stage of the season, the Hoosiers are eager to get back on the field.
That anticipation finally turned into clarity on Friday night, when Alabama erased a 17-point deficit to defeat Oklahoma 34–24, officially setting up the Rose Bowl matchup. With an opponent now in place, Indiana can shift its full focus toward preparing for one of college football’s most storied programs on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
True to form, Cignetti has wasted no time diving into Alabama’s film. Known as a relentless student of the game, he has spent the layoff dissecting the Crimson Tide, searching for tendencies, mismatches, and any detail that could give Indiana an edge on college football’s biggest stage. While extended breaks can sometimes disrupt rhythm or momentum, the Hoosiers have approached the downtime with purpose, balancing preparation with recovery and long-term roster stability.
“It’s critical, and it certainly did clear the picture up quite a bit because the emphasis, before we knew who the opponent would be, was on the ’27 team and retention and needs,” Cignetti stated. “And we’ve got a few practices in as well to stay sharp and got refreshed and got in the weight room. But we’re probably 95 percent through what I would call the key guys, sort of the guys that everybody knows. So, we’re almost home in that front.”
In an era of college football shaped by the transfer portal, roster certainty can be just as valuable as game planning. With players able to change programs at a moment’s notice, not having to worry about who will still be in the locker room during bowl preparation is a luxury few teams enjoy. Cignetti’s confidence in how Indiana has navigated the break reflects a program that feels settled, focused, and unified ahead of the most important game in school history.
That focus will be tested against an Alabama team that, despite outside skepticism, remains loaded with talent and battle-tested against elite competition. The matchup also carries historical weight for Indiana. The Hoosiers’ last meeting with an SEC opponent ended in a 26–20 loss to Ole Miss in the 2021 Outback Bowl, while their most recent victory over the conference came against Missouri in 2014.
Still, this is not the Indiana program of years past. Over the last two seasons, Cignetti has reshaped the culture in Bloomington and elevated expectations along the way. As two crimson-clad teams collide under the Pasadena lights, both sidelines will be ready for a fight, with neither coach willing to back down on one of college football’s grandest stages.
Adding another layer of intrigue, the Rose Bowl carries personal significance on both sidelines. For Cignetti, the matchup offers a full-circle moment. He once served as a wide receivers coach under Nick Saban at Alabama and was on staff during the 2010 National Championship at the Rose Bowl, when the Crimson Tide defeated Texas. Across the field, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer also brings Indiana ties with him to Pasadena. Before his success in Tuscaloosa and previously at Washington, DeBoer spent the 2019 season in Bloomington as Indiana’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.
The familiarity does not stop there. Alabama co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan coached at Indiana from 2017 to 2019 before serving as the Hoosiers’ offensive coordinator from 2020 to 2021. Sheridan is also set to take over as Michigan State’s offensive coordinator beginning in 2026. On the defensive side, Alabama coordinator Kane Wommack was Indiana’s linebackers coach in 2018 before being promoted to defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2020. With so many shared connections, the game carries the feel of a reunion as much as a high-stakes postseason battle.
With that in mind, focus becomes paramount. Both teams are hungry for a win, but Cignetti has emphasized minimizing distractions and keeping his players locked in on the task at hand. That approach has been evident throughout the break, as Indiana has remained disciplined, unified, and committed to the collective goal rather than outside noise or future uncertainty.
For Hoosier fans, New Year’s Day promises to be historic. Indiana will make its first Rose Bowl appearance since 1968 and just the second in program history. It also marks the Hoosiers’ second trip to the College Football Playoff, with a chance to secure their first playoff victory on college football’s biggest stage. While the moment carries immense significance, Cignetti is not dwelling on history. His focus remains squarely on the present and on finding a way to beat Alabama.