Indiana Hoosiers running back Roman Hemby (1) and tight end Riley Nowakowski (37) and quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) and offensive lineman Pat Coogan (78) and wide receiver Elijah Sarratt (13) celebrate on the podium after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2026 Rose Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff at Rose Bowl Stadium. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Indiana's dominant win over Alabama in Rose Bowl drew massive viewership

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Jan 5, 2026 7:44 PM ET

The Indiana Hoosiers are apparently a national phenomenon.

Not only are they the No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff and absolutely blistering hot at 14-0, but they just essentially swapped places with the program that used to be the college football juggernaut.

Head coach Curt Cignetti, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza and the Hoosiers demolished the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl, and the numbers suggest that people were more than happy to tune in to that beatdown.

It was a 38-3 Indiana win that was 17-0 at the end of the first half. From a competitive-game standpoint, fans didn't really have much to tune in for at that point. They still did, though, according to ESPN, and they tuned in at a record pace.

The Rose Bowl, which acted as one of the quarterfinal games for the College Football Playoff, drew 23.9 million viewers. It was the most-viewed game in the 12-team CFP era, which, to be fair, is only in its second year. With that said, that does mean it topped last year's national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame.

It was also the fourth-most-watched Rose Bowl game ever.

All eyes were on the ‘25-‘26 #CFBPlayoff Quarterfinals - which averaged 19.3M viewers, up 14% YoY

#RoseBowl: 23.9M (most-watched CFP game of the 12-team era)⁰ #GoodyearCottonBowl: 19.0M (+37% YoY)⁰ #SugarBowl: 18.7M (+18% YoY)⁰ #CapitalOneOrangeBowl: 15.9M pic.twitter.com/wbrS3tQkwe
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 5, 2026

People are tuning in to watch the Indiana Hoosiers' historic run

Much of this can be attributed to Indiana being such an oddity. For years, the Hoosiers were thought of as a basketball school with a middling, if not straight up bad, college football program. Before Cignetti took over, the Hoosiers' highest win total in a single season was nine, and that happened way back in 1967. Before that, their last nine-win season was in 1945.

It was odd to see the team in red, which looked dominant, being from Indiana and not Alabama.

Certainly, plenty of fans, and plenty of SEC fans, also tuned in to see what appears to be the official fall from grace of the Crimson Tide.

From six championships from 2009 to 2020 under Nick Saban to getting blown out by Indiana in the Rose Bowl, watching the Tide struggle so mightily was also an oddity to see. No wonder so many people tuned in.

Next up for Indiana is a semifinal matchup in the Peach Bowl against No. 5 Oregon (13-1). You can bet the eyes of the college football world will be watching that game on Jan. 9, likely to another record-setting level.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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