Alabama is onto the next round of the College Football Playoff.
The ninth-seeded Crimson Tide picked up a 34-24 win over No. 8 Oklahoma on Friday, Dec. 19 at Gaylord-Family Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma to become the first team to advance past the CFP first round this year.
Ty Simpson helped lead a come-from-behind win for the Crimson Tide that started in the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Lotzeir Brooks. That score kick-started a 27-point unanswered run by Kalen DeBoer’s squad. Alabama secured the game with a 6-yard rushing touchdown from Daniel Hill in the fourth quarter after Oklahoma made it a one-possession game.
Here’s a quick look at what you need to know for who the Crimson Tide play next in the College Football Playoff:
Who does Alabama football play next in CFP?
With its first-round win, Alabama will now face top-seeded Indiana in the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff. Led by their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Hoosiers are undefeated at 13-0 on the season and hold a top-five scoring offense (fifth, 41.9 points per game) and scoring defense (10.8 points allowed per game) in the country.
The Hoosiers secured the top seed in the CFP bracket with their Big Ten championship win over then-No. 1 Ohio State.
Indiana football: What to know on Hoosiers vs Alabama
Here’s three things to know on the Hoosiers:
Stat leaders:
- Leading passer: QB Fernando Mendoza, 2,980 yards with 33 touchdowns and six interceptions
- Leading rusher: RB Roman Hemby, 918 rushing yards with six rushing touchdowns
- Leading receiver: WR Omar Cooper Jr., 804 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns on 58 receptions
- Top defender: LB Rolijah Hardy, 87 total tackles, eight sacks and four broken-up passes. An honorable mention is DB Louis Moore with six interceptions and 76 total tackles.
How they got here:
- Schedule: 13-0 overall, 9-0 in Big Ten play
- Big wins: vs. Illinois, at Iowa, at Oregon, at Penn State and vs. Ohio State (Big Ten Championship game)
Playoff history:
- Have they been here before? Yes, the Hoosiers are making their second consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff under Curt Cignetti. Indiana was a one-and-done last season in the CFP, as it lost to eventual national runner-up Notre Dame in the CFP first round. The Hoosiers are looking to become the first No. 1 seed in the 12-team CFP era to win their first game after a first-round bye.
Indiana vs Alabama in CFP quarterfinals time, date, schedule
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 1
- Time: 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, Calif.)
- TV channel: ESPN
- Streaming option: ESPN app | Fubo (free trial)
Indiana and Alabama will meet in the Rose Bowl on Thursday, January 1, at 4 p.m. ET inside the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. ESPN will broadcast the game with streaming options consisting of the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.
