Who will Alabama or Indiana play next? Explaining the 2025 CFP bracket opponent for semifinals
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Who will Alabama or Indiana play next? Explaining the 2025 CFP bracket opponent for semifinals originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Indiana and Alabama are set to play for the first time ever on Thursday in the Rose Bowl to decide who advances in the College Football Playoff.
While the Rose Bowl was once the biggest event in the sport, it is now just a stop on the path to the CFP National Championship. The Hoosiers and Crimson Tide would both love to win the game for the history alone, but it also means they would advance to the semifinals.
Therefore, the winner between Indiana and Alabama will be one of four teams left in the field by the time Jan. 2 comes around. Meanwhile, the loser will go home and begin preparing to try and return to the Playoff next year.
Here's a breakdown of who the winner of the Indiana-Alabama will play in the semifinals.
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College Football Playoff bracket 2025
MORE: Ranking the eight remaining CFP teams
Who will Alabama or Indiana play next?
The winner of the Rose Bowl will play the winner of the Orange Bowl in the next round, so Alabama or Indiana will take on either Oregon or Texas Tech. Since the College Football Playoff is a bracket, the field is not re-seeded after rounds so that teams know who they are playing next.
Alabama hasn't played Oregon or Texas Tech this season, but the Hoosiers and Ducks did have a game in Eugene in October, where Indiana gave Oregon it's only loss of the season.
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When does Alabama or Indiana play again?
If Indiana wins the Rose Bowl, the Hoosiers will have the honor of choosing when and where to play next between the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl. Therefore, Indiana would likely choose the Peach Bowl Jan. 9 over the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8.
Alabama, on the other hand, will have it's schedule chosen for them, so the Crimson Tide could play on either Jan. 8 or Jan. 9.
College Football Playoff schedule 2026
| Date | Round | Matchup | Time (ET) | TV Channel |
| 12/19 | First round | No. 9 Alabama 34, No. 8 Oklahoma 24 | — | — |
| 12/20 | First round | No. 10 Miami 10, Nol 7 Texas A&M 3 | — | — |
| 12/20 | First round | No. 6 Ole Miss 41, No. 11 Tulane 10 | — | — |
| 12/20 | First round | No. 5 Oregon 51, No. 12 James Madison 34 | — | — |
| 12/31 | Quarterfinals (Cotton Bowl) | No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Miami | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| 1/1 | Quarterfinals (Orange Bowl) | No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon | 12:00 p.m. | ESPN |
| 1/1 | Quarterfinals (Rose Bowl) | No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 9 Alabama | 4:00 p.m. | ESPN |
| 1/1 | Quarterfinals (Sugar Bowl | No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN |
| 1/8 | Semifinals (Fiesta Bowl) | TBD vs. TBD | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| 1/9 | Semifinals (Peach Bowl) | TBD vs. TBD | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| 1/19 | CFP National Championship | TBD vs. TBD | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
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