The 2025 College Football Playoff kicks off with a heavyweight showdown between two of the sport’s most storied programs: No. 9 Alabama heads to Norman to take on No. 8 Oklahoma in what promises to be a first-round clash loaded with history, stakes, and plenty of unfinished business.
This isn’t just a meeting of blue bloods - it’s a rematch with real bite. Oklahoma edged Alabama earlier this season in Tuscaloosa, a narrow win that still lingers in the minds of Crimson Tide players and fans alike.
Now, with the season on the line, Alabama gets its shot at revenge, while Oklahoma looks to prove that first win was no fluke. The winner punches their ticket to Pasadena for a Rose Bowl quarterfinal - and a date with the top-ranked team in the country.
Let’s be clear: this is as high-stakes as it gets. The Rose Bowl isn’t just a reward - it’s a gateway to the national title, and standing in that path is a team that’s been steamrolling opponents all year long: the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers.
Yes, those Hoosiers.
The winner of Friday night’s Alabama-Oklahoma clash will face No. 1 Indiana on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl.
And if that sounds like a tall task, it’s because it absolutely is. Indiana has been the story of the 2025 season - a perfect 13-0 campaign, a Big Ten title, and now the No. 1 overall seed in the expanded College Football Playoff.
At the center of it all is quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who just made history by becoming the first Indiana player to win the Heisman Trophy. Mendoza’s been electric all year, throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and leading the nation with 33 touchdown passes. He’s not just a passer, either - Mendoza’s mobility adds another layer to Indiana’s already potent offense, and his poise under pressure has turned the Hoosiers into a legitimate title contender.
But this Indiana team isn’t just about offense. The Hoosiers are balanced in a way few teams can match.
They’re fifth in the country in total offense, averaging nearly 42 points per game, and they boast the second-best scoring defense in the nation. That defense showed up in a big way in the Big Ten Championship, where they held powerhouse Ohio State to just 10 points in a 13-10 slugfest.
Names like Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. give Mendoza reliable targets, while Aiden Fisher and Rolijah Hardy anchor a defense that has consistently shut down elite competition. Indiana isn’t just winning - they’re dominating on both sides of the ball.
And then there’s Curt Cignetti, the architect of this stunning turnaround. In just two seasons, Cignetti has taken Indiana from the depths of college football history - literally the losingest program in major college football - to the top of the sport.
He’s the first coach ever to win AP Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons, and he’s led the Hoosiers to a 24-2 record during that stretch. This year alone, he delivered the program’s first 13-0 regular season, its first outright Big Ten title since 1945, and now, its first-ever No. 1 seed in the CFP.
Cignetti hasn’t just changed the culture in Bloomington - he’s rewritten the script. Indiana is no longer a feel-good story; they’re a legitimate powerhouse with a Heisman winner, a championship-caliber defense, and a head coach who’s proven he can win big.
So, whether it’s Alabama - a program that’s lived in the playoff spotlight - or Oklahoma - a team hungry to reclaim its place among the elite - the reward for advancing is clear: a shot at the top dog in college football.
The Rose Bowl awaits. The lights will be bright.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. And standing on the other sideline will be a team that’s spent all year proving it belongs.