ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY PRUDENTIAL: ALABAMA VS INDIANA

December 29, 2025

Pat Coogan

Indiana Hoosiers

Press Conference

Q. Crazy day of travel, a long way, but you guys realize it's a business trip despite all the prestige that goes along with the Rose Bowl, right?

PAT COOGAN: Yeah, of course. It's part of the profession. It's part of what we do. But we're happy to get out here enjoy the travel, enjoy the flight. But we're happy to be here and ready to roll.

Q. What's it like now that you're here and it's, okay, we're at the Rose Bowl? What's the vibe around the team like?

PAT COOGAN: Well, we just got here like five minutes ago. But I think everybody's pretty hungry, so we're eating now. But we've got our coaches and staff put together a great schedule, and just get us ready to roll. And get a good night's sleep tonight and get into that Thursday routine tomorrow and rock and roll from there.

Q. Only eight teams left. You personally, just the other guys leaders on this team, how do you feel as far as the opportunity ahead of you guys? I know there's a lot of business to be taken care of.

PAT COOGAN: Absolutely. We've got to take it day by day. It's part of the business. It's part of where we are. We earned the right to be here, but we've got to be where our feet are. We have to take each day in stride and be the best versions of ourselves each and every day.

Q. There will be three and a half weeks between games the time you guys play. How do you maintain the routine with this group?

PAT COOGAN: I think Coach Cignetti has done a great job implementing a plan that's put us in position to be successful. And it kind of starts, like I said, it's being where your feet are, being present in the moment.

And obviously the first week or so we didn't know who we were playing. So that was just time to refresh, get our bodies back and do some self-scout there and improve.

And then when we found out it was Bama, it was go time. It got into the game prep, and we had two weeks to prepare. It was like we've had it before with bye weeks where you had two weeks to prepare for an opponent. It was good.

Like I said, Coach Cig has put together a great plan along with Coach Owings. It's been a great time off, but I know we're ready to roll. And it's nice to know where you're playing, know who you're playing and start really game planning. We've had a great prep and we need to continue to do so.

Q. When you guys went to Oregon, you guys stayed on that Eastern Time Zone. How do you do it with multiple days now in advance?

PAT COOGAN: Like I said, I think everyone -- staff, Coach Cignetti, our strength coach -- has put together a great plan for us. And we've got to follow the plan to a T, because they're the professionals. That's that's what they do for a living. Follow them and follow their lead. We followed them all the way here. That's our plan.

Q. Nothing changed at all (inaudible) for you guys? (Indiscernible).

PAT COOGAN: No, he's similar in his mannerisms and how he goes about our business and how he wants us leading and our eyes focused forward. Nothing's really changed. It doesn't matter that it's the Rose Bowl, necessarily.

We know the opponent. We know how big this game is. But at the end of the day the game's played in between the white lines. We've got to go out there and perform. And he's put together a great prep for us, a great mindset for us.

We're all excited, but it starts with him and he's done a great job of having our eyes focused and detailed.

Q. There's some great bowls out here, but this is the Rose Bowl. How cool is it to have the opportunity to play in a Rose Bowl?

PAT COOGAN: Yeah, obviously a very special opportunity. An opportunity you kind of dream of as youth football players and just as a kid in general, watching college football. It's special for my family and all of my loved ones, they get to fly out here and watch us and be a part of the whole atmosphere.

But you take it in. You appreciate the moment for a brief second and then it's game time. And then it's football at the end of the day. Like I've said, we've been playing this game since third, fourth, fifth grade. It doesn't really change. Sure, the moment may be a little bit bigger, the scene maybe a little bigger, but it's football at the end of the day.

Q. There's so much talk about the togetherness of this team. I feel like (inaudible) from the outside looking in. But how do you feel that day in and day out, especially with the prep?

PAT COOGAN: It starts in the locker room. It starts with a great group of guys that really care for each other and are there for each other. It starts with friendships. While we are all teammates, we're friends too.

I think that's huge for us outside of the building; we're able to kind of just relax with each other and be boys and hang out. And that bonds us together and that helps us on the football field.

So everything combined has led to success, and we just gotta keep doing what we're doing and go out there and perform.