No. 1 Indiana spent several December weeks reveling in the luster of the best season in school history.
They sung the school’s fight song in the confetti celebration following their first Big Ten championship since 1967 and first outright title since 1945. They were featured on “60 Minutes.” They signed their offensive and defensive coordinators to contract extensions. They even flew to New York City and took photos of quarterback Fernando Mendoza and his brand new Heisman Trophy in Times Square.
And now that they know their Rose Bowl opponent after Alabama rallied for a 34-24 victory at Oklahoma, Indiana has spent the past 10 days prepping to prove they’re worthy of holding both the No. 1 ranking and the top seed in the College Football Playoff.
“We understand that just like the Big Ten Championship game, just like any other big games we played this season, this page is now folded, although I will be in the (Heisman) fraternity for the rest of my life,” Mendoza said after returning to campus with the Heisman. “Our focus right now is winning the College Football Playoff. That’s what would make this trophy so much sweeter.”
Last year was the first for the expanded 12-team playoff, and the top four seeds with first-round byes — Oregon, Georgia, Bosie State and Arizona State — all lost in the quarterfinals. This year’s top seeds — Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech — want to prove last year was a fluke.
Georgia (12-1) face conference foe Ole Miss (12-1) in a New Year’s Day rematch at the Sugar Bowl; the Bulldogs dealt the Rebels their only loss. The defending champion Buckeyes (12-1) have spent the past couple weeks getting healthy and making one key change. Coach Ryan Day will be calling the plays when Ohio State faces Miami (11-2) in the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday night.
“There’s not a game that’s gone by where I’m not involved or listening to every call and making sure it’s what we’ve agreed upon going in (to the game),” Day said, explaining why he’s taking over the playcalling from new South Florida coach Brian Hartline. “So, it’s similar to the way it was before.”
The other quarterfinal matchup pits Texas Tech (12-1), the Big 12 champion, against Oregon (11-1).
The Hoosiers (13-0) never lost their focus in 2025, thanks partly to second-year coach Curt Cignetti but mostly because the Hoosiers’ returning contingent — players such as linebacker Aiden Fisher, defensive end Mikail Kamara and receivers Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. — wouldn’t allow it.
Neither did the newcomers such as Mendoza and starting center Pat Coogan, who immediately embraced Indiana’s mission to avenge the two losses that tainted Cignetti’s otherwise flawless first season: At eventual national champion Ohio State and at eventual national runner-up Notre Dame.
Outsiders entered this season wondering whether the remarkable turnaround of the losingest football program in Football Bowl Subdivision history was merely a one-hit wonder. Yet with each passing week, the Hoosiers answered the challenge, turning some doubters into believers.
“For us, it’s not really three weeks of being off, it’s more so about getting better at what you do right now,” Fisher said. “And when the time comes to scout another opponent, you’ll be an even better player and in a better situation to do that. I think that’s a big thing.”
Now comes the toughest test so far: A game at the Rose Bowl against the Crimson Tide, which has won six national championships since 2009. Cignetti is a former Alabama assistant while Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer is a former Indiana assistant.
“We understand we’ve got a great football team with Indiana,” DeBoer said. “Coach Cignetti, just what he’s done is amazing here these last two years, just building the program as quickly as he’s done to the level it’s at. Really looking forward to us diving back into our process here, getting back to work.”
So far, Indiana has met every challenge with late scores to win at Iowa, at Oregon and at Penn State before upsetting the then top-ranked Buckeyes on Dec. 6. Cignetti has relied on those lessons to help his team through his long layoff.
“Until we knew the opponent, we treated it like two bye weeks. Now we have almost two weeks to prepare for the opponent,” he said last week. “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.”
The Hoosiers don’t expect anything less from themselves. They intend to be rested and ready — not rusty.
“I believe we’ve earned these bye weeks,” Mendoza said. “I think it’s a great honor to have a bye week, and we still have great momentum going into the playoff. I think it’s a great opportunity to rest our bodies and stay sharp on our fundamentals.”
No. 10 seed Miami (plus 9 1/2) vs. No. 2 seed Ohio State
This game sets up as a showdown between two top-10 defenses at the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State scored just 10 points in its loss to Indiana in the Big Ten championship game and Miami managed just 10 in its CFP first-round win over Texas A&M.
With points at a premium, the Buckeyes will need to do a better job in the red zone. They’ve come away with touchdowns on just two of their last seven trips inside the 20-yard line. Julian Sayin also must get the ball out quickly against a front seven that sacked the Aggies’ Marcel Reed seven times. The Buckeyes’ offensive line had allowed just six sacks through 12 games before allowing five against Indiana.
Miami, which will be going against a defense allowing 213 yards and 8.2 points per game to lead the nation, needs another big game from RB Mark Fletcher and continue to find creative ways to get do-it-all freshman star Malachi Toney involved.
Pick: Ohio State 17-10.
No. 5 seed Oregon vs. No. 4 seed Texas Tech (plus 2 1/2)
Oregon seemed to lose interest after getting out to a 34-6 lead in a 51-34 first-round win over James Madison, and Dan Lanning and his staff were beside themselves. The Ducks should have no problem staying focused in the Orange Bowl.
Texas Tech will be their biggest challenge since Indiana went into Eugene and left with a 10-point win in October. Oregon’s Dante Moore could be the first quarterback taken in the NFL draft, and he will have ample opportunity to showcase his skills against a defense that has two AP first-team All-Americans in David Bailey and Jacob Rodriguez, a second-teamer in A.J. Holmes and a third-teamer in Lee Hunter.
The Red Raiders need to keep injury-prone QB Behren Morton upright and, like Ohio State, they need to get touchdowns instead of field goals when they get inside the red zone.
Pick: Texas Tech 27-24.
No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana (minus 7)
It’s the SEC vs. the Big Ten and the first Alabama-Indiana meeting ever. Old money vs. new money.
The Hoosiers’ rise under Curt Cignetti is the best storyline in college football in a long time, and the idyllic Rose Bowl setting would be just the place for it to continue with Fernando Mendoza playing his first game since winning the Heisman Trophy.
Alabama is more than capable of spoiling everything, but it can’t afford another start like it had against Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide trailed 17-0 and was out-yarded 118-12 in the first quarter before matching the largest comeback in CFP history and winning 34-24.
Indiana’s players took notice of the Tide’s perseverance and warned no lead would be safe. Cignetti will have his team playing with the pedal to the metal.
Pick: Indiana 28-17.
No. 6 Mississippi vs. No. 3 Georgia (minus 6 1/2)
Mississippi beat Tulane 41-10 in the first round for Pete Golding’s initial victory as successor to Lane Kiffin, and now the competition ramps up at the Sugar Bowl.
The Bulldogs won the regular-season meeting 43-35 at home, part of their current nine-game winning streak and Mississippi’s only loss. Gunner Stockton’s two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter wiped out a 35-26 deficit; Trinidad Chambliss was just 1-of-10 passing for 1 yard over the final 15 minutes.
The Rebels will need a more even performance from Chambliss, who was terrific against Tulane, and they have to hope RB Kewan Lacy comes back after hurting a shoulder against the Green Wave.
Georgia played its best late in the season, and it will be interesting to see how much, if any, the layoff affects the Bulldogs.
Pick: Georgia 31-21.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.