Indiana's Rose Bowl Win vs. Alabama Makes History with Record TV Viewership

No. 1 Indiana's 38-3 win over No. 9 Alabama in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl attracted a large television audience.

According to Front Office Sports, the broadcast of Thursday's game drew 22.5 million viewers and set a new record for the 12-team CFP era.

The playoff expanded from four teams to 12 ahead of the 2024 season.

The Rose Bowl for the 2024-25 CFP, in which Ohio State wrapped up a 41-21 victory over Oregon, averaged 21.1 million viewers.

It would have been difficult for Thursday's clash to set the overall Rose Bowl record, as Texas' memorable 41-38 win over USC for the 2006 BCS national championship is the most-watched college football game of all time with 35.6 million viewers (h/t Rodney Reeves of Front Office Sports).

While Indiana entered its latest battle with Alabama as the top-seeded school in the playoff, the dominance by head coach Curt Cignetti's squad was still surprising.

After both teams were tied 0-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Hoosiers outscored the Crimson Tide 17-0 in the second and never looked back.

2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza recorded more touchdown passes than incompletions for Indiana, finishing 14-of-16 for 192 yards and three scores without getting picked off.

Indiana's defense also limited Alabama to just 193 total yards as well as an average of 3.9 yards per play. The Crimson Tide converted just three of their 11 opportunities on third down.

The Hoosiers will now face Oregon in the CFP semifinals on Friday. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET.