Even Nick Saban was surprised by the sheer physicality of Indiana‘s defense during its 13-10 win over defending national champion Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 6. Four weeks later, Saban is wondering aloud whether his former team, No. 9 Alabama, has what it takes to withstand the Hoosiers’ physical defensive front in Thursday’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl.
“I was so impressed with Indiana’s defense against Ohio State, I didn’t think they could play as physical as they played, and that could be a problem for Alabama because they struggle to run the ball,” Saban said Tuesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “And if you make the game one-dimensional for (Crimson Tide quarterback) Ty Simpson, that could be an issue. Because Indiana is going to score some points, they’ve got too good of players with (Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando) Mendoza and the receivers they got, their ability to run the ball to (create) balance.
“And Curt Cignetti, to me, does a great job. Their team does not beat themselves very often. So you’ve got to beat them and it’s going to be a challenge (for Alabama).”
The ninth-ranked Crimson Tide (11-3) has struggled at times this season against elite run defenses, including in its two most recent defeats — a 23-21 loss to Oklahoma (No. 2 run defense nationally), and a 28-7 loss to Georgia (No. 4 run defense nationally) in the SEC Championship game. In those two games, Alabama’s offense managed just 77 total rushing yards, including negative-3 against the Bulldogs.
Entering this week, the Crimson Tide ranks 15th among 16 SEC teams averaging just 109.93 rushing yards per game this season — only LSU is worst. In fact, against AP-ranked teams, Alabama is averaging just 2.54 yards per carry and 82.17 rushing yards per game this season. That includes avergaing just 12.5 rushing yards per game in December — against Georgia and Oklahoma.
And, while the Tide managed to pull out a 34-24 victory over the aforementioned Sooners in their first-round game Dec. 19 in Norman, it did so despite managing just 28 yards on 25 carries for a 1.12 ypc average. Some of that was due to four Oklahoma sacks of Simpson, but the win required Alabama’s first-year starting quarterback to effectively play the game of his life.
Based on Saban’s assessment, Simpson might need another similar performance Thursday against undefeated Indiana, which boasts the nation’s No. 3 run defense (77.62 yards per game), the No. 4 total defense (257.2 ypg), and the second-ranked scoring defense (allowing just 10.8 points per game).