PASADENA, Calif. — It's been 25 days since Indiana has played a football game. The No. 1-ranked Hoosiers finally get back on the field on Thursday when they take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl.

The Hoosiers are 13-0 and the last unbeaten team in college football. They are ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history after beating then-No. 1 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 6.

Since then, they spent a week collecting a ton of national awards, with quarterback Fernando Mendoza winning the Heisman Trophy and several other player of the year honors. And for the second straight year, coach Curt Cignetti won all the national coach of the year honors.

Cignetti and the Hoosiers have tried to come up with a plan to prepare for the playoffs despite a 25-day layoff. The sample size is small, but so far in the year-plus of the CFP, top-four teams with first-round byes are 0-5 in quarterfinal games. No. 2 seed Ohio State was the first victim this year, losing 24-14 to No. 10 seed Miami on Wednesday night in the Cotton Bowl.

This is the first meeting between Indiana and Alabama, but there are a lot of ties between the two teams. Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer was the offensive coordinator at Indiana in 2019, and Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack had the same role at Indiana in 2020, and was a linebackers coach for two years before that. Quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan also coached at Indiana from 2017-21.

Cignetti and DeBoer both came up through the coaching ranks through small schools, so they've paid attention to each other's career paths. There's a mutual respect. Cignetti is 24-2 in his first two years at Indiana after replacing Tom Allen.

DeBoer is 20-7 in his two years at Alabama after replacing legendary coach Nick Saban, who won six national titles at Alabama during his 17 years in Tuscaloosa. 

"I've got a lot of respect for Alabama, obviously, and for coach DeBoer,'' Cignetti said Wednesday in the final press conference of the week before the game. "We've had similar paths in our coaching careers, and it shows up on tape.

"He's a great football coach, and Alabama's a great football team with a lot of good football players. It's going to be a tremendous challenge. We'll have to play extremely well, and we are looking forward to the game.''  

Indiana made the first 12-team CFP field last year, losing to Notre Dame to finish its season at 11-2. Since the four-team playoff started in 2014, Alabama has won three national championships and have 10 total wins. Both are records.

Alabama missed out on the playoffs a year ago, and haven't won a title since 2020. They played in the Rose Bowl in 2023, losing a semifinal game to Michigan in Pasadena. There are 22 players still on the Alabama roster who were here for that game with Michigan.

Michigan won that 2023 national championship, and Ohio State won last year. Indiana is hoping to become the third straight champion from the Big Ten.

Here's how to watch the game:

How to watch Indiana vs. Alabama

Who: No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers (13-0) vs. No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-3)
What: College Football Playoff Quarterfinals
When: 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 1
Where: Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, Calif.
TV: ESPN
TV announcers: Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst),Holly Rowe and Kris Budden (sideline)
Radio: Indiana Hoosiers Sports Network, Sirius XM (Channel 84)
Weather: It has been raining for two days in Southern California, but the rains are expected to stop by 11 a.m. local time, about two hours before kickoff. No rain is forecasted for the rest of the day.
Point spread: Indiana is a 7.5-point favorite over Alabama on Thursday, and the over/under is 47.5 points, according to the Fanduel.com gambling website. Indiana opened as a 6.5-point favorite.
Series history: First meeting.
What's next: The Indiana-Alabama winner moves on to the CFP semifinals on Friday, Jan. 9 in Atlanta. They will play the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal game between No. 4 Texas Tech and No. 5 Alabama.

Related Rose Bowl stories

NICK SHERIDAN TALKS ALABAMA'S UPS AND DOWNS: Alabama co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan discusses the Crimson Tide's struggles this season. They have three losses, but he also says they have a lot of big wins and deserve to be playing Indiana in the Rose Bowl on Thursday. READ MORE 

CHARLIE BECKER, EMERGING LEGEND: Sophomore wide receiver Charlie Becker has emerged as a clutch target — and huge fan favorite — for No. 1 Indiana during the past few months. He's had three 100-yard games, including one with six dramatic catches to beat Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. He's become an instant legend. READ MORE

INDIANA'S SAD BOWL HISTORY: Indiana doesn't have much football history until the past couple of years, so it's safe to assume they don't have much of a bowl history, either. They've only played in 14 postseason games, have just three wins and haven't won a bowl game since 1991, losing seven in a row. Here's the complete list. READ MORE 

MUCH RESPECT FOR HOOSIERS FROM ALABAMA: Based on history alone, Alabama fans aren't worried one bit about No. 1 seed Indiana. But the Crimson Tide players and coaches know better. They've watched all the film of the 13-0 Hoosiers, and they see them as a crisp, disciplined team that makes big plays and doesn't beat themselves. READ MORE

LONG LAYOFF HURT TOP SEEDS?: The expanded College Football Playoff offers exciting quarterfinal matchups next week, but don't expect a repeat of last year's struggles for the top-four seeds. This year's elite contenders — Indiana, Ohio State and Georgia — are all favored and poised to dominate. READ MORE

DeBOER UNDERSTANDS INDIANA'S RISE: Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer appreciates what Curt Cignetti has done at Indiana, because he has first-hand knowledge of what it's like to win there. DeBoer was the offensive coordinator there in 2019, one of the first high-priced hires by the school. Now they face off in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. Here is Tom Brew's column on DeBoer. READ MORE