Alabama is in an unusual spot heading into the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day against No. 1 Indiana.
Being an underdog is nothing new for the Crimson Tide; they were underdogs for their last two games against Georgia and Oklahoma. But this one feels different. Against the Bulldogs and Sooners, Alabama was just a minor underdog, and there were plenty of folks in the national media picking Alabama to emerge victorious.
Against Indiana, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone outside of Alabama giving the Crimson Tide much of a shot against the Hoosiers. You can add former NFL offensive lineman turned Fox Sports analyst Geoff Schwartz to that ever-growing list, too.
Schwartz believes Alabama's defense has a big problem against Fernando Mendoza and the Indiana offense.
"Bama can't rush the passer," Schwartz said. "It's a big problem. They can't hit the passer. That doesn't fare well against Indiana's offense. ...If you let them do what they want, RPO game, play-action pass, with those wide receivers, they're hard to cover."
Geoff Schwartz says Alabama cannot rush the passer - and that's a big problem vs. Indiana
There seems to be some strange notion that Alabama's defense isn't good. The Crimson Tide ranks 9th in Bill Connelly's defensive SP+ metric. Alabama ranks 15th in total defense and 15th in passing defense in the country.
And the notion that Alabama can't affect opposing quarterbacks is silly, and proof positive that Schwartz hasn't watched many Tide games this season, if any at all. Per Game on Paper, Alabama ranks in the 87th percentile in the country in havoc percentage.
Alabama can absolutely pressure the quarterback. Kane Wommack has just preferred not to blitz and to play zone coverages. It's led to a bend-not-break defensive strategy that has worked for most of the year. And when it doesn't work, Wommack will break his tendencies and send blitzes to get after the QB.
That's exactly what happened a week ago against Oklahoma in the opening round of the College Football Playoff. John Mateer was picking the Alabama defense apart in the base scheme. Wommack turned up the heat and completely changed the game.
After allowing 17 points through Oklahoma's first four possessions, the Sooners scored just seven points the rest of the game. Alabama sacked Mateer five times and generated 19 total quarterback pressures.
With LT Overton making his return for the Rose Bowl, the Crimson Tide will have even more pass-rushing firepower to throw at Mendoza. You can bet that Wommack won't sit back and allow the Heisman winner to pick him apart. He's going to send plenty of pressures, and Alabama's ability to get home might just be shocking for Schwartz and others.