Overview
- The Jan. 1 Rose Bowl in Pasadena is a College Football Playoff quarterfinal, with the winner advancing to the Peach Bowl semifinal.
- Alabama enters with a deep Rose Bowl lineage, winning five of eight appearances and launching Southern football's national legitimacy with its 20-19 upset of Washington in 1926.
- Top-ranked Indiana arrives as a rebuilt contender under Curt Cignetti, marking only the program's second Rose Bowl.
- First-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer called the stage 'special' as he makes his initial Rose Bowl trip with the Crimson Tide.
- Crimson Tide safety Keon Sabb, who played in the 2024 Rose Bowl for Michigan, could become the only known player to win Rose Bowls with two different teams if Alabama prevails.