A quick flood of national college football opinion gives the Alabama Crimson Tide little chance against Indiana. For this Alabama football team, there could not be a better scenario. Kalen DeBoer's team relishes being disrespected.
In last night's postgame media session, Simpson responded to a question about the SEC Championship Game failure fueling the win over Oklahoma: "Y’all kind of wrote us off. Appreciate that." The remark elicited a huge smile from DeBoer.
On Friday night in Norman, OK, the Alabama Crimson Tide showed itself as two teams. In the game's first 20 minutes of play, Alabama was a football team that would have no chance in the Rose Bowl. After that, Alabama was a team that the No. 1 seed Indiana Hoosiers could be outmatched against.
The Rose Bowl opened with Indiana as a 6.5-point favorite. The spread will likely drop, but on Jan. 1 in Pasadena, Alabama Football will be the underdog. The Hoosiers are a good team that beat Oregon in Eugene and beat Ohio State for the Big Ten Championship. The Hoosiers' quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, deserved the Heisman Trophy Award. As Curt Cignetti will brashly state, Indiana is also a very good defensive team. If Alabama plays as it did early against the Sooners, the Hoosiers could win easily.
Cignetti will do the Alabama Crimson Tide a big favor by continuing to brag about his team (and himself). Alabama football insiders say that during Cignetti's time on Nick Saban's staff, he felt passed over for promotions. What he has done since, in a rapid rise of head coaching reputation, is impressive. His turnaround of Indiana is remarkable. But the Hoosiers are not equal to Alabama in overall talent.
Alabama Crimson Tide has more ...
In an early Rose Bowl prediction, Pete Fiutak picked Indiana to win. But of Alabama, Fiutak wrote: "Talk all you want about the Indiana stars, but Alabama has way more NFL parts, depth, size, and skill." That fact means that for Indiana to win, it will either have to be lucky, outcoach Alabama, or for the Crimson Tide to self-destruct. A disrespected Alabama football team playing well, but not even to its fullest potential, can beat the Hoosiers.