Who will Alabama play next? Explaining the 2025 CFP bracket opponent for Round 2
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Who will Alabama play next? Explaining the 2025 CFP bracket opponent for Round 2 originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The 2025 College Football Playoff opened with a dramatic first-round clash as the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide traveled to Gaylord Family–Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and defeated the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners 34-24 in a thrilling contest on Friday night.
This monumental victory, coming after the Crimson Tide battled back from a daunting 17-0 deficit in the first half, immediately highlighted the championship pedigree in Tuscaloosa. Coming back from a deep hole like is what national title programs do, showcasing the resilience, composure, and halftime adjustments necessary to win playoff games; this time, it catapulted Kalen DeBoer's team to the first postseason win since he took over.
While the Alabama will have time to rest and recover, a monumental challenge awaits at the Rose Bowl: the undefeated No. 1 overall seed Indiana Hoosiers. Led by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and head coach Curt Cignetti, the 13-0 Hoosiers have been the revelation of college football this season. Alabama’s hard-fought comeback victory against Oklahoma — a program built on championship DNA— means the Crimson Tide gets the opportunity to challenge the sport’s newest dominant force, moving one step closer to a national title.
Next up at one of college football's most famous stadiums, is a monumental quarterfinal between two college football powerhouses. One is the legendary Crimson Tide, forged by the championship DNA instilled by Bear Bryant; the other is the undefeated No. 1 Hoosiers, the brand-new, modern force of college football. Alabama brings decades of national titles to Pasadena, while Indiana brings the Heisman Trophy winner and an unblemished record.
It is a clash of eras: the program built on historic tradition facing the program that is building its history right now.
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College Football Playoff bracket 2025
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Who will Alabama or Oklahoma play next?
Alabama will advance to play No. 1 Indiana, the only undefeated team in the country, in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
The 2025 season has been nothing short of historic for the Hoosiers, who completed a perfect 13-0 run to claim the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff. The perfect record was capped by a gritty victory over No. 1 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship, where the stout Indiana defense suffocated the Buckeyes in a 13-10 win.
At the heart of Indiana's explosive success is quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who became the first-ever Hoosier to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy. Mendoza was arguably the best player in college football this season throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and a national-leading 33 touchdowns, while also being a threat on the ground. He won the Heisman over Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia, Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State's Julian Sayin.
Fernando Mendoza's speech after winning the Heisman 👏 pic.twitter.com/l2xvqJzKju
— ESPN (@espn) December 14, 2025
The Hoosiers rank fifth nationally in total offense, tallying 41.9 points per game to go along with the second best scoring defense in America. With stars on both sides of the ball, whether its Elijah Sarratt or Omar Cooper Jr. accompanying Mendoza or Aiden Fisher or Rolijah Hardy leading a stout defense that just shut out the defending champions on the biggest stage, Indiana has it all.
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Across the sidelines from Kalen DeBoer will be the first ever head coach to win AP Coach of the Year in back-to-back years in Cignetti. Cignetti has guided the Hoosiers to a 24-2 record over two seasons, including the program's first-ever 13-0 regular season, its first outright Big Ten Championship since 1945, and the No. 1 overall seed in the CFP. Prior to his arrival, Indiana was the losingest program in major college football history.
Cignetti's historic coaching job has not just rebuilt a program — it has fundamentally reset the expectations for Indiana football, positioning the Hoosiers to challenge any opponent in the country as they pursue their first-ever national championship.
For whoever wins on Friday night, get ready for a battle at the Rose Bowl, where the Heisman winner, a historic coach and the No. 1 team in college football awaits.
College Football Playoff schedule 2025
| Date | Round | Matchup | Time (ET) | TV Channel |
| Dec. 19 | First Round | No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 8 Oklahoma | 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN |
| Dec. 20 | First Round | No. 10 Miami vs. No. 7 Texas A&M | Noon | ABC/ESPN |
| Dec. 20 | First Round | No. 11 Tulane vs. No. 6 Ole Miss | 3:30 p.m. | TNT/truTV |
| Dec. 20 | First Round | No. 12 JMU vs. No. 5 Oregon | 7:30 p.m. | TNT/truTV |
| Dec. 31 | Quarterfinals | No. 10 Miami/No. 10 Texas A&M vs. No. 2 Ohio State | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Jan. 1 | Quarterfinals | No. 12 JMU/No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech | 12 p.m. | ESPN |
| Jan. 1 | Quarterfinals | No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 9 Alabama | 4 p.m. | ESPN |
| Jan. 1 | Quarterfinals | No. 11 Tulane/No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Jan. 8 | Semifinals | TBD vs. TBD | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Jan. 9 | Semifinals | TBD vs. TBD | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Jan. 19 | National Championship | TBD vs. TBD | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
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