The Alabama Crimson Tide is about to take on the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers in the second round of the College Football Playoff.
While any Playoff game is crucial for both teams in the mix, this one means a little more to Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer and his defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.
The pair met when they were both coordinators for the Hoosiers, with DeBoer as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and Wommack as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Kalen DeBoer and Kane Wommack tied to Indiana
When asked about his time with the Hoosiers, Wommack had a genuine and heartfelt response: "Some really great memories in that position."
After just one year as Indiana's OC, DeBoer moved on to become the head coach at Fresno State, then moved to Washington, and eventually took the job at Alabama.
Meanwhile, Wommack spent one more season with Indiana before taking his first head coaching role at South Alabama before joining DeBoer's staff with the Crimson Tide in 2024.
For DeBoer and Wommack, this game means more than just earning a win to move on to the next round of the College Football Playoff. Indiana is one of the programs that turned them into the coaches that they are today.
The Hoosiers, of course, are an entirely different team than they were when DeBoer and Wommack were part of the program. Indiana is the No. 1 team in the nation and is coming off a Big Ten Championship title.
The ninth-seeded Tide is coming off a comeback victory over the eighth-seeded Oklahoma Sooners in the first round of the Playoff.
On New Year's Day, the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers and the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide are scheduled to kick off their College Football Playoff Quarterfinal matchup at the Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential at 3 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.