Alabama Crimson Tide vs Indiana Hoosiers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/01/2026

Game Time: 4:00 pm ET, Thursday, January 1, 2026

Venue:  Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA 

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Alabama +7, Indiana -7; Over/Under:  47.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Alabama +7, Indiana -7; Over/Under:  48 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Alabama +7, Indiana -7; Over/Under:  47.5 points

Alabama Crimson Tide:  11-3 (7-1) (2nd place, SEC)

Indiana Hoosiers:  13-0 (9-0) (1st place, Big Ten)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Big Al McMordie is on a HOT STREAK in college football on a 7-0 CFB RUN for +$7,000 PROFIT! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Alabama Crimson Tide:  won their last game on the road against the Oklahoma Sooners 34-24.

Indiana Hoosiers:  won their last game at a neutral site against the Ohio State Buckeyes 13-10.

Alabama is entering this game with an 11-3 record overall and they have a 7-1 record in their conference games too. They are 6-1 in their home games, 5-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-1 in their neutral site games this season, and they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Oklahoma 34-24. Ty Simpson was the starting QB and he completed 18/29 passes for 232 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Daniel Hill led the team in rushing yards with 43 and 1 TD. Lotzeir Brooks led the receivers with 79 receiving yards on 5 receptions and 2 TDs. Justin Jefferson led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Justin Jefferson, Deontae Lawson, Keon Keeley, and Kelby Collins each led the defense in sacks with 1. Zabien Brown came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Indiana is entering this game with a 13-0 record overall and they have a 9-0 record in their conference games too. They are 7-0 in their home games, 5-0 in their road games, and they are also 1-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Ohio State 13-10. Fernando Mendoza was the starting QB and he completed 15/23 passes for 222 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Kaelon Black led the team in rushing yards with 69. Charlie Becker led the receivers with 126 receiving yards on 6 receptions. Rolijah Hardy led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles while Isaiah Jones led the defense in sacks with 2. Louis Moore came away with the only interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Indiana listed as a 7 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Indiana has looked great in their games this season with their 13-0 record overall and their 9-0 conference record which had them right at the top of the Big Ten. They are 1-0 in their neutral site games this season and they are the number 1 ranked team in the nation. Meanwhile, Alabama has looked really good in their games this season with their 11-3 record overall and their 7-1 conference record which had them right near the top of the SEC. They are 0-1 in their neutral site games this year and will be playing the next round of the CFP in the Rose Bowl. Alabama looked really good in the 1st round of the CFP with a 34-24 road win over Oklahoma, but they looked terrible in the SEC Championship, losing 28-7 to Georgia. Oklahoma was a really good team, but they were also leaning a lot on their great defense and didn't have a great offense to put up points. Alabama was down 17-0 early in that game and found a way to come back, but they won't be able to do that again here since Indiana does have a really good offense that will bury them before they get the chance to come back. Indiana has looked great all season, winning the Big Ten with a 13-10 win over Ohio State, and they have rolled over a majority of their opponents this year. They have one of the best defenses in the nation that will give this Alabama offense a lot of trouble, considering how they don't really have a rushing attack, and this Alabama defense is going to see a much better Indiana offense that will put up points and won't take their foot off the gas with a lead. The best way to place a bet here is on Indiana to cover the spread in this game. 

Alabama Indiana Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Thursday, January 1, 2026 (4:00 pm ET start time) is Indiana 35 Alabama 17.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Alabama Crimson Tide Indiana Hoosiers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

Alabama Crimson Tide: 24-16 ATS in all lined games. 12-5 ATS after playing their last game on the road. 12-5 ATS when playing against a top-level team (Win Pct. > 75%). 10-3 OVER when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 9-4 OVER in non-conference games. 

Indiana Hoosiers: 4-7 ATS vs. good offensive  teams - scoring 31 or more points/game. 0-5 ATS as a neutral field favorite. 14-24 ATS after a bye week. 17-9 OVER as a favorite. 9-4 OVER vs. good teams - outscoring opponents by 10+ PPG on the season.

Alabama Crimson Tide:  T. Keenan III (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. Riley (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. L. Overton (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Latham (LB) Questionable - Neck. D. Kirkpatrick Jr. (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. Howard (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Beaman (DL) Out - Lower Body.

Indiana Hoosiers:  S. Daley (DL) Out - Leg. B. Franke (K) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. Wyatt (DL) Out - Undisclosed. B. Bonds (CB) Out - Undisclosed. L. Beebe Jr. (RB) Out - Leg. T. Morris (WR) Out - Knee.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I think there’s things you do that give you an appreciation to be in the opportunity that you’re in. Having an opportunity to be here at Alabama, but I also think there’s moments that you go through. With the playoffs being what they are and with us having to go 4 rounds I’ve been through that many years whether it was as an assistant or head coach going back to Sioux Falls days. And then I think building a staff and having the network and the contacts has helped me be surrounded by people with a lot of knowledge and also the right type of people to lead you, especially in today’s day and age of college football.” - Kalen DeBoer on coaching at Alabama. 

“Well, you know, it is what it is, so you make the most of it. The way we approached it until we knew the opponent? We treated it like two bye weeks, and now we have almost two weeks to prepare for the opponent.” - Curt Cignetti on the playoff schedule.

WR Horton, Isaiah

WR Bernard, Germie

WR Williams, Ryan

TE Edwards, Kaleb

TE Cuevas, Josh

QB Simpson, Ty

RB Miller, Jam

WR Sarratt, Elijah

WR Williams Jr., E.J.

WR Cooper Jr., Omar

TE Nowakowski, Riley

QB Mendoza, Fernando

RB Hemby, Roman

Passing: Ty Simpson (3,500)

Rushing: Jam Miller (504)

Receiving: Germie Bernard (802)

Touchdowns: Germie Bernard (9)

Passing: Fernando Mendoza (2,980)

Rushing: Roman Hemby (918)

Receiving: Omar Cooper Jr. (804)

Touchdowns: Omar Cooper Jr. (13)

Coaches:

Alabama Crimson Tide: Kalen DeBoer (2nd season)

Indiana Hoosiers: Curt Cignetti (2nd season)