Indiana is set to face Alabama at the Rose Bowl in the CFP Quarterfinals. The matchup will kick off at 4 p.m. ET in Pasadena, California. Kalen DeBoer’s team is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its 1926 Rose Bowl national championship victory. At the same time, Indiana is making its first Rose Bowl appearance since 1968. With such high stakes in the air, let’s look at the referees and announcers for the game.

Who Is Officiating the Indiana vs. Alabama Game?

In the Cotton Bowl between Ohio State and Miami, the officiating was criticized after some controversial calls. The referees involved in the game initially threw minimal flags, and the only flag that came at first was for a defensive holding call against Mario Cristobal’s Miami. Despite those low flags, the crew missed an obvious pass interference on Ohio State’s CB Devin Sanchez, who was covering CJ Daniels.

Owing to the infractions, one becomes curious to know the names of the upcoming referees in the Indiana vs. Alabama game. Unfortunately, we don’t know the names of the refs yet. The refereeing assignments are assigned quite close to the game by Football Zebras or the NCAA.  Football Zebras had also obtained the crew assignments for the 2025 college football conference championships.

Who Are the Announcers for Indiana vs Alabama?

The Indiana vs. Alabama Rose Bowl game will air on ESPN on TV and ESPN+ through streaming. Other options to watch the game include DirecTV and Fubo. As for the game’s announcers, Chris Fowler will serve as the play-by-play announcer, with Kirk Herbstreit as the analyst.

Fowler has been the ESPN broadcaster since 1986 and also hosted the College GameDay road show in 1990, in addition to other football-related segments. Kirk Herbstreit, on the other hand, brings a wealth of experience as a quarterback for Ohio State, having joined broadcasting as ESPN’s sideline analyst in 1995. The duo has together featured in every national championship final since 2015, carrying a rich legacy.

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Apart from the main announcing crew, fans can also enjoy a separate ‘Field Pass’ calling for the Rose Bowl. The event would feature names like Pat McAfee, AJ Hawk, Darius Butler, Ty Schmit, Tone Diggs, and Connor Campbell.

Who Is the Sideline Reporter for the Indiana vs. Alabama Game?

The Rose Bowl game’s sideline reporter and commentators will be Holly Rowe and Kris Budden. Both Rowe and Budden are known for delivering in-depth on-field reports and breaking sideline stories as they happen.

Rowe comes from a deep journalistic background, having earned her degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Utah. She has been with ESPN since 1995 and became a full-time sideline reporter as early as August 1988. Kris Lee Budden is another prominent voice in college football who is a Missouri alum.

After earning a degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University, she is currently employed by ESPN. In addition to CFB, the 46-year-old also covers women’s college basketball and has expanded her coverage to include the Tennis Grand Slam. We regularly see her navigating multiple sports with play-by-play commentator Dan Shulman and analyst Jay Bilas in men’s college basketball.