(photo courtesy Indiana University Athletics)

(Pasadena, CA) — The top-ranked Indiana football team arrived in Pasadena Monday night to continue preparations for Thursday’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal with Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

IU hasn’t won a bowl game since its 1991 Copper Bowl victory against Baylor, and lost in its only previous Rose Bowl opportunity, 14-3 to top-ranked USC in the 1968 game. There is a different vibe with Curt Cignetti’s squad.

“We’re all fighting for our lives to play one more game after this,” linebacker Aiden Fisher says. “It’s a big game to be a part of. It has a special tradition. When we get there, we’ll maybe give ourselves 10 minutes to soak it all in, but it’s better to come out on the winning side.”

The Hoosiers — and their fans — have had to sit and wait for over three weeks since topping Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. Even though last year, none of the top-four seeds survived the quarterfinals, Indiana’s coaches and players are confident in the plan heading into the contest with the Crimson Tide.

‘I do feel like our guys will be ready to play,” states offensive coordinator Mike Shanhan. “Shoot, we’re playing in the Rose Bowl, College Football Playoff game against a great opponent. There might be a slight adjustment early in the game, but I feel like our guys will be ready to go. The experience in our group I think will help us as well.”

“I think Coach Cignetti has done a great job of implementing us a plan that has put us in position to be successful,” says center Pat Coogan, a transfer from Notre Dame. “It kind of starts with being where your feet are, being present in the moment. Obviously, the first week or so we didn’t know who we were playing so that was time to refresh, get our bodies back, do some self-scout there and improve. And then when we found out it was ‘Bama it was go-time.”

“I think we’ve got a lot of older guys that understand that it wasn’t just this week, but last week,” adds tight end Riley Nowakowski. “We really have to prepare for this team. We need every second we can get.”

Indiana is a seven-point favorite in the matchup with Alabama. The Rose Bowl is set for a 4 p.m. kickoff on New Year’s Day and will be televised by ESPN.