NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
The Indiana Hoosiers will face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on New Year’s Day in what could be the team’s biggest challenge yet.
The Hoosiers solidified their playoff spot earlier this month with a Big Ten Championship victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. It’s only going to get tougher from the team led by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza from here on out.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) and quarterback Alberto Mendoza (16) walk onto the field to warm up before the 2025 Big Ten championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 6, 2025. (Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)
Mendoza said he will embrace the challenge the Crimson Tide will provide. His comments on the Big Ten Network on Tuesday suggest he has the right mindset to pull off a victory.
“I think a message we call ‘encompassed’ is: ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ Although we are the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, we have all these high expectations, this is the first time Indiana has done this. At the same time, we are grateful and we want this opportunity. This is what we have been working on all offseason.
2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL TRANSFER PORTAL MONITORING: WHO ARE THE TOP NAMES EXPECTED TO PARTICIPATE?
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti looks on before the 2025 Big Ten Championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 6, 2025. (Robert Goddin/Imagn Images)
“It’s not like we’re here to stand for something. We don’t have that Rose Bowl win. We don’t have the national championship. We don’t have a semifinal win yet. We don’t have the Rose Bowl trophy, or we don’t have roses in our mouths yet. We have to go. We have to go, especially against such a great team like Alabama, a juggernaut in the SEC. We have to go. We’re very fortunate and honored.” For this opportunity (coach Curt Cignetti said so), it’s something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives, and even though the boys’ trip to New York was great, I would say we all worked very diligently because we all worked our whole lives for this moment and for this opportunity. As younger children we dreamed of it, as older men we will remember it. “
The Hoosiers finished undefeated in the regular season for the first time since 1945, when they had a 9-0-1 record. The team was ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press regular season poll for the first time ever.
A lot of that has to do with how Cignetti coached his team during the year and how Mendoza stepped up in games despite costly turnovers.
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer shouts from the sidelines in the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family OK Memorial Stadium on December 19, 2025. (Nelson Chenault/Imagn Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
Now, Indiana will certainly prove if they are true national title contenders by taking on a monster in Alabama.
