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The No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers will begin their College Football Playoff journey when they face the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide on Thursday. This 2026 Rose Bowl matchup is the second of the CFP quarterfinals, as the two programs will face off for the first time ever. Indiana (13-0) is the only undefeated team left standing, is coming off a 13-10 victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten title game and boasts the Heisman winner in Fernando Mendoza. Alabama (11-3) knocked off Oklahoma, 34-24, in the CFP First Round after dropping the SEC Championship Game to Georgia. The winner will advance to the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9.

Kickoff is at 4 p.m. ET from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. This will be IU's first game in program history as the AP No. 1 team. The Hoosiers are 7.5-point favorites in the latest Indiana vs. Alabama odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points is 47.5. IU is at -260 on the money line (risk $260 to win $100), while Bama is priced at +211 (risk $100 to win $211). Before making any Alabama vs. Indiana picks, check out the college football predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

New users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $200 in bonus bets if your $5+ bet wins:

The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times, and it is 31-19 on its top-rated college football money-line picks since the beginning of the 2024 season. 

Now, the model has set its sights on Indiana vs. Alabama. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the FBS college football odds and trends for Alabama vs. Indiana:

Indiana vs. Alabama spread

Indiana -7.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook

Indiana vs. Alabama over/under

47.5 points

Indiana vs. Alabama money line 

Indiana -260, Alabama +211

Indiana vs. Alabama picks

See picks at SportsLine

Indiana vs. Alabama streaming 

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New users can also check out the latest FanDuel promo code and get $250 in bonus bets at FanDuel if your $5 bet wins. 

How to make Alabama vs. Indiana picks

After simulating Indiana vs. Alabama 10,000 times, SportsLine's model is going Over on the total (47.5 points). The Over has hit in three of four Alabama games versus teams outside the SEC in 2025, and under Kalen DeBoer, the Over is 6-3 for Bama when venturing outside the conference. The Tide are coming off their best offensive performance of the season, scoring their most points (34) on the road when they defeated Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff first round, and that was against an Oklahoma defense which ranks No. 8 in the nation in points allowed per game.

The Over is 5-2 for Indiana over its last seven, and it's 8-5 overall for the season. The Hoosiers have the No. 4 scoring offense in the country as Mendoza is forecasted to account for two total touchdowns, while IU's ground game piles up nearly 150 yards. Bama's Ty Simpson is expected to keep pace, with him actually throwing for more yards than the Heisman winner. With two prolific offenses, 50 combined points are projected as the Over hits in over 50% of simulations.

The model also says one side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time. You can see the model's pick at SportsLine.  

So who wins Alabama vs. Indiana, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Indiana vs. Alabama spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that's simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.