2026 Rose Bowl
by James Kevin Stott
- 2026 Rose Bowl Information
- Who Will Play in the 2026 Rose Bowl?
- About the Rose Bowl Stadium and Game
- Last 10 Rose Bowl Winners
- Last 10 Rose Bowl Player(s) of the Game
- 2026 Rose Bowl Vital Information
- Where to Watch and Listen to the 2026 Rose Bowl
- Where to Find Cheap 2026 Rose Bowl Game Tickets
Thumbnail: File: Rosebowl.JPG Attribution: Sparrowman980 (CC BY 3.0-SA)
2026 Rose Bowl Information
Bowl Game Name: 2026 Rose Bowl Bowl Game Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026 |
One of the four College Football Playoff (CFP) Quarterfinals, the **2026 Rose Bowl** always brings the tradition and scenery of Pasadena, California, but this year also sees the No. 1 team in the now 12-team tournament, Ohio State, taking the field in Southern California.
This will be the 112th annual game, deemed The Grandaddy of Them All, and this year’s Rose Bowl at the Rose Bowl (Bermuda Grass) will be played on New Year’s Day, Thursday, January 1, 2026, and kick off an hour earlier than in previous years (4 pm EST/1 pm PST).
The game will be televised on ESPN, and the winner of the 2026 Rose Bowl will advance on to one of the two CFP Semifinals, either the Fiesta Bowl or the Peach Bowl, with a chance at winning the national championship.
The 137th Rose Parade will also take place on Thursday, January 1, 2026, marching down the 5.5-mile route on Colorado Boulevard at 11 am EST/10 am CST/8 am PST/. The theme of the parade this year is “The Magic in Teamwork.”
Who Will Play in the 2026 Rose Bowl?
After upsetting #1 Ohio State in the Big Ten Conference Championship game, Indiana will face the winner of the CFP First Round game between #8 Oklahoma and #9 Alabama at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma, on Friday, December 19 (ABC, 8 EST/5 PST) in this 2026 Rose Bowl.
The Hoosiers and Heisman Trophy candidate QB Fernando Mendoza will be playing in their second-ever Rose Bowl, with Indiana’s only other appearance in this iconic bowl game from the Golden State coming way back in 1967 when O.J. Simpson and USC defeated Indiana, 14-3.
Alabama (10-3) is 5-2-1 in the Crimson Tide’s eight Rose Bowl appearances in Southern California, while Oklahoma (10-2) has only played in The Grandaddy of Them All once, beating Washington State, 34-13 in 2003 as part of the then Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rotation.
Expect oddsmakers to make WRs Omar Cooper Jr, Charlie Becker, and Elijah Sarratt, and new and proud Big Ten Conference champions Indiana slight 2.5- to 4-point favorites over Oklahoma or Alabama in the 2026 Rose Bowl.
About the Rose Bowl Stadium and Game
First held in 1902 under the more prosaic name, the East-West Tournament, this revered college football bowl game officially became the Rose Bowl in 1923 after a local newspaper reporter suggested “Rose Bowl” as an homage to the Tournament of Roses Parade before the game and the shape of the stadium.
The stadium’s name was changed from the Tournament of Roses Stadium to the Rose Bowl that year in 2023. The Rose Bowl game is responsible for starting the tradition of playing bowl games on New Year’s Day, and has evolved from four main bowls on January 1.
Those four classic bowl games for years were the Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Cotton, but the New Year's Six evolved (2013-2023), and soon the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl became big college football bowl games.
The creation of the current 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) has made four of these bowls CFP Quarterfinal games the traditional Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Cotton with the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl now the two CFP Semifinal games.
The winners of the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl will meet in the 2026 CFP National Championship Game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, January 19 (ESPN, 7:30 EST/4:30 PST). You can find CFP Championship Game tickets in this link.
No one has played in more Rose Bowls than the locals, the University of Southern California (USC), and the Trojans are 25-9 in their 34 appearances in the Rose Bowl. The 2024 Rose Bowl champions Michigan, are 9-12, while Ohio State is an impressive 10-7 in 17 appearances.
Last 10 Rose Bowl Winners
2025—Ohio State 41 Michigan 21
2024—Michigan 27 Alabama 20
2023—Penn State 35 Utah 24
2022—Ohio State 48 Utah 45
2021—Alabama 31 Notre Dame 14
2020—Oregon 28 Wisconsin 27
2019—Ohio State28 Washington 23
2018—Georgia 54 Oklahoma 48 (2 OT)
2017—USC 52 Penn State 49
2016—Stanford 45 Iowa 16
Your 2025 Rose Bowl Champions.@OhioStateFB | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/XvX1Dy4sKH
— Rose Bowl Game (@rosebowlgame) January 2, 2025
Last 10 Rose Bowl Player(s) of the Game
2025—Jeremiah Smith, Cody Simon, Ohio State
2024—JJ McCarthy, Mason Graham, Michigan
2023—Ji’Ayir Brown, Sean Clifford, Penn State
2022—Jaxon Smith-Nijigba, Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
2021—DeVonta Smith, Patrick Surtain II, Alabama
2020—Justin Herbert, Brady Breeze, Oregon
2019—Dwayne Haskins, Brendon White, Ohio State
2018—Sony Michel, Roquan Smith, Georgia
2017—Sam Darnold, Steve Tu’ikolovatu, USC
2016—Christian McCaffrey, Aziz Shittu, Stanford
2026 Rose Bowl Vital Information
Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026
Time: 4 pm EST/3 pm CST/1 pm PST
TV: ESPN
Stadium: Rose Bowl (capacity 92,542)
Surface: Bermuda Grass
Owner: City of Pasadena
City: Pasadena, California, USA
Address: 1001 Rose Bowl Drive
Phone: (626) 449-4100
Website: RoseBowlGame.com
Executive Director: David Eads
Media Contact: Karren Linhart
Sport: FBS DI College Football
Founded: 1902 (112th annual)
2024 Champions: Ohio State (won 41-21 over Oregon)
Where to Watch and Listen to the 2026 Rose Bowl
You can see the Rose Bowl live on ESPN, ESPN+, ESPN.com, and the ESPN App from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Thursday, January 1, 2026, on TV, your PC, or mobile devices. The game also airs on DirecTV Stream, Sling TV, Fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV.
On the radio, you can find the 2026 Rose Bowl on ESPN Radio, SiriusXM, or through any of the various live streaming apps like YouTube TV, ESPN+, or FuboTV.
Where to Find Cheap 2026 Rose Bowl Game Tickets
Unlike other resale sites such as StubHub, SeatGeek, and Ticketmaster, where service fees may fluctuate depending on venues, ticket types, and ticket prices, TicketX has an industry-low flat fee, which makes getting Rose Bowl tickets significantly cheaper.
You can currently get seats starting from $254.10 for the 2026 Rose Bowl. Expect these to sell out quickly when the final CFP Quarterfinals participants for this game from Pasadena are determined. With Indiana having qualified, you better act now!
About TicketX
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