Alabama football completed Step 1. The Crimson Tide beat Oklahoma 34-24 on Friday, earning its first College Football Playoff victory.
With the first round completed, UA has a tougher test ahead. No. 1 Indiana awaits in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal, on Jan. 1 in Pasadena. As Alabama celebrates its victory and begins to prepare, here’s what to know about the 13-0 Hoosiers.
The coach
To say that Curt Cignetti has done a good job at Indiana is perhaps college football’s largest understatement. Cignetti, who took over last season, has turned the Big Ten’s ultimate doormat into the nation’s top team.
Cignetti joined up from James Madison before the 2024 season. He immediately took a program that had grown stale under Tom Allen to the CFP, then turned around and did even better this year.
“I just know that winning lifts all boats,” Cignetti said after the playoff field was announced. “In terms of fan support in the stadium, donations, all parts of the university, downtown when you pack the stadium, bring a lot of people to Bloomington, it helps their sales. A lot of pride in Hoosier Nation. The largest alumni base in America, over 800,000 people. I’d say right now the arrow is pointing up. We probably got a lot of momentum going in those kind of areas.”
Cignetti has a connection to Alabama as well. He worked as the Crimson Tide’s wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator under Nick Saban from 2007 through 2011, helping set the groundwork for Saban’s dynasty in Tuscaloosa.
In addition to Indiana in James Madison, he was a head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Elon after leaving the Tide.
The quarterback
For the first time in program history, Indiana has a Heisman Trophy winner. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza beat out a group of finalists that included Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin.
Mendoza has thrown for 2,980 yards this season, with 33 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has completed 226 of his 316 passes so far.
“Our focus right now is winning the College Football Playoff,” Mendoza told reporters Monday in Bloomington. “That’s what would make this trophy so much sweeter. I believe this trophy is a little bit of a push of confidence on us, on the team, that we’re making history for the IU team in history to be 13-0 and also to bring home a Heisman Trophy to Bloomington.”
The junior, who hails from Florida, transferred into Indiana from Cal this year. He spent two seasons in Berkeley before joining the Hoosiers.
The season
Indiana was the losingest program in the Football Bowl Subdivision entering this season. Some predicted it would be a step back for the Hoosiers, who lost several key players from last season’s playoff team.
Instead, IU won its first Big Ten title since 1967. It enters the CFP undefeated.
“I think that if we hooked everybody up in this room on a lie detector test and told them, hey, do you think Fernando Mendoza is going to win the Heisman this year and we’re going to be 13-0, Big Ten champs, the team has a lot of self-belief and unwavering belief, but I think it’s tough to make those predictions,” Mendoza said Monday.
To cap off the season, Indiana, which had faced criticism for its strength of schedule throughout the year, pulled off a huge upset in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers beat then No. 1 Ohio State, earning the top seed in the CFP and a spot in the Rose Bowl.
