PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The next stop on No. 1 Indiana's storybook journey to the top of college football is nothing less than the most fabled bowl venue in the sport.
The Big Ten champion Hoosiers (13-0) are headed to their first Rose Bowl in 58 years to face Oklahoma or Alabama on New Year's Day, marking another remarkable milestone in their transformation under coach Curt Cignetti.
Indiana secured the No. 1 seed in the CFP and formally received its invitation Sunday to the 112th edition of the Granddaddy of Them All, which doubles as a College Football Playoff quarterfinal. The Hoosiers will learn the identity of their blue-blood opponent after the eighth-seeded Sooners (10-2) host the ninth-seeded Crimson Tide (10-3) on Dec. 19 in a rematch of Oklahoma’s 23-21 victory over Alabama last month.
“We’ve got a long time to prepare, and two heavyweight teams are going to slug it out, and we’ll find out on the 19th who our opponent will be," Cignetti said.
The announcement capped a monumental weekend for Indiana, which won its first Big Ten title since 1967 by beating defending national champion Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday night. The Hoosiers then ascended to the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 for the first time.
“Obviously it’s the Granddaddy of Them All, with a lot of great tradition involving the Big Ten, so we’re excited about that,” Cignetti said. “But at the end of the day it’s a football game, and we’ll approach it like every other game, including last night’s game. We’ll be looking forward to getting out there.”
Indiana is headed to the Rose Bowl for only the second time. The Hoosiers’ previous Big Ten championship team was in Pasadena on Jan. 1, 1968, but lost 14-3 to national champion Southern California.
The current Hoosiers, led by Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Fernando Mendoza, have reached unprecedented heights ever since the miracle-working Cignetti took over what was once the losingest program in the sport. His teams have produced the first two double-digit win seasons in school history in his first two years on campus.
Indiana made the playoff as the 10th seed last season, going 11-1 with only a road loss to Ohio State. The Hoosiers traveled to Notre Dame for the opening round and lost 27-17 in a highly anticipated in-state matchup.
“If you use failure properly, you’re going to come back stronger,” Cignetti said of that game.
While the Hoosiers haven't played in the Rose Bowl game in generations, many members of the current team visited the famed Arroyo Seco in September 2024. Indiana trounced UCLA 42-13 at the Rose Bowl in the first road game of Cignetti's tenure, producing the first attention-grabbing result in what has grown into one of the most incredible success stories in college football history.
Cignetti also went to Pasadena when he was Nick Saban's wide receivers coach at Alabama. The Crimson Tide won their first national championship under Saban on Jan. 7, 2010, by beating Texas 37-21 at the Rose Bowl to complete a 14-0 season.
The top seed has won four of the last six CFP titles, but Cignetti isn't thinking beyond Indiana's historic trip to Pasadena. The Hoosiers have never faced Alabama in both programs' long histories, while the Hoosiers and the Sooners have met just once — back in 1928.
Oklahoma earned the right to host a first-round matchup in its first CFP appearance under coach Brent Venables. He had two losing records in his first three seasons after replacing Lincoln Riley, whose Sooners made four straight CFP appearances.
“I know for some people, the debate has been ... maybe we don’t belong in the playoffs,” Venables said. “But we’re here. I know a lot of teams were hoping they got matched up with Oklahoma potentially in the playoffs. Our focus, our energy, our detail is to be able to play for a championship, no matter how crazy that might seem to everybody else. Our team believes we have everything we need to do so.”
After losing to sixth-seeded Ole Miss at home on Oct. 25, the Sooners won their final four games, beating three ranked teams — including the Crimson Tide, who gave up 17 points off three turnovers in Norman while outgaining the Sooners 406-212.
“We didn’t take care of the ball the way we normally do, and we lost the turnover margin,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer told ESPN on Sunday. “That’s a credit to them. We missed on a couple of opportunities that really could have changed the outcome in a two-point loss.”
After missing the playoff last season in DeBoer's first year in charge, Alabama secured the No. 9 CFP seed despite its three losses, including a 28-7 setback to Georgia in the SEC championship game. The Crimson Tide got in based on its strength of schedule to help overcome its three losses including the season-opener to a Florida State team that finished 5-7.
“This is what you’re looking for,” DeBoer said. “This is what you want, and this is what our guys worked so hard for.”
AP college football: https://apnews.com/college-football
Alabama head coach Kalen Deboer speaks to an official during the first half of a Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game between Georgia and Alabama, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables celebrates with linebacker Kip Lewis (10) after defeating LSU during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick Rose figured he would experience all sorts of emotions when he saw his banner hang from the rafters. They started flowing long before the moment arrived.
The Chicago Bulls retired his No. 1 following their win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night. And the kid who went from growing up in a rough South Side neighborhood to starring for his hometown team was ready for the moment.
“I had someone or a journalist ask me, ‘Man, did you cry?’ I told him I cry every day,” Rose said. "And he asked about what. Being joyful, knowing where I grew up, knowing my coming back here, my being practical with knowing the economy, with me being there, and the neighborhoods. And you just know.
"That’s one of the reasons why I came back, is to curate things and to employ people.”
Rose joined Michael Jordan (23), Scottie Pippen (33), Jerry Sloan (4) and Bob Love (10) as the only players whose numbers have been retired by the team.
He shed tears during emotional speeches by former teammates Taj Gibson, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah and by coach Tom Thibodeau. He got choked up when he addressed his mother and older brothers as well as his wife, two sons and daughter. There were hugs and smiles, too, when the banner was unveiled.
Rose had already gotten a glimpse at it. On Friday, the Bulls posted video on social media of him seeing it for the first time.
Rose said seeing the banner was “unreal.” But it hadn't really sunk in.
“All this, the moment, I’m still trying to take in, I’m still trying to process in real time,” he said. “And yeah, and just feeling grateful, you know what I mean? Like knowing the weather conditions out there, knowing that it’s a Chicago thing to even show up here, to fight through that and still go to an event. It’s huge, so it’s something that I’m grateful for.”
The video the Bulls posted shows a wide-eyed Rose walking out to center court. He lets out a “wow, are you serious?” as he gazes at the unfurled banner in front of the scorer's table. He squats, walks over and touches it, rubbing his hand over the No. 1. He's then joined by his family as well as former teammates Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Kirk Hinrich.
Noah says in the video seeing Rose's number raised to the rafters “is our championship moment.”
On Saturday, there were black Rose jerseys at each seat. The Bulls posted video from Jordan and Pippen congratulating him. Rose left roses from his flower shop — Rose's Flower Shop — in both teams' locker rooms before the game.
“He instilled that heart, he instilled that trust in us and that made us come out and fight for you every single night,” Gibson told the crowd.
Former coach Tom Thibodeau called Rose “a basketball savant" whose humility is what really made him stand out.
“The next stop, in my opinion, is the Hall of Fame and there is no doubt about that,” he said.
This isn't the first time the team honored Rose. The Bulls did it when they played New York on Jan. 4, 2025, symbolizing the date as well as the numbers he wore with the Bulls as well as the Knicks and Chicago's Simeon Career Academy. That same day, the Bulls announced they would retire Rose's jersey.
Rose, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, went from being Rookie of the Year to an All-Star to NBA MVP in his first three seasons. He remains the league’s youngest MVP, winning it when he was 22.
A major knee injury during the 2012 playoffs forced him to miss almost two full seasons and he contemplated stepping away from the game several times following other injury issues.
Rose averaged 17.4 points and 5.2 assists in 723 regular-season games. He averaged 21 points per game before the ACL tear 12 years ago and 15.1 per game in the seasons that followed. But he doesn't dwell on what might have been.
At 37, Rose is more focused on his family and business interests, like an online flower shop and employing people from the city. Or his work promoting participation in chess, particularly among at-rise youngsters. He's not all that interested in working in basketball.
“Everybody thinks the the path or the motif was, 'All right, after you get done, you gotta go back and be around basketball,'” he said. “I didn’t want that. I wanted to curate things or be in lanes that nobody was in. Coming from Chicago, when you tend to enter lanes that people are in, you step on toes and certain things can happen.
"So with me having that in mind, I wanted curate things so that I don’t have to worry about any competition.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose, talks during a press conference before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. Rose's jersey will be retired after the game today. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose, center, laughs while talking with writer Sam Smith, right, after a press conference, before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. Rose's jersey will be retired after the game today. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose, smiles after a press conference before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Chicago Bulls guard Kevin Huerter walks into United Center wearing a jersey for former player Derrick Rose before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose, left, fist bumps fans before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. Rose's jersey will be retired after the game today. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
