Rose Bowl Preview: Q&A with Hoosier Huddle

Alabama and Indiana are set to square off in the Rose Bowl for the second round of the College Football Playoffs. It’s a program that Alabama hasn’t crossed paths with before, so you could be forgiven for not knowing too much about the Hoosiers, outside of their sudden success the last two seasons under Coach Curt Cignetti.

So, to help us out, we talked with Sammy Jacobs of Hoosier Huddle to get his thoughts about Indiana as a whole. Give him a warm welcome for becoming a new friend of the site.

1) Can you distill down what exactly Curt Cignetti has done to take the Hoosiers from a program in shambles to the best program in the country? We always liked him as Alabama’s WR coach, but obviously you never see too much of position coaches to really know who they are. 

Curt Cignetti left Alabama to bet on himself and his process. He has talked at length over the last week or so about how his time with the Tide has shaped his coaching philosophy. He went to IUP and learned how build his process, at that level he was allowed to grow and learn. He perfected it and went to Elon and James Madison before coming to IU. He trusts his process and a lot of that process comes from coaching and learning from Nick Saban.

2) A year ago, the college football world at large looked at Indiana with skepticism as the schedule seemed weak and the rise to the top seemed a bit too good to be true, especially after a resounding loss in the playoffs. This year, the Hoosiers are the undisputed best team in the country by both advanced metrics AND wins over Ohio State and Oregon. What gives you confidence that this Indiana team can go further than last years’ team?

IU hit their ceiling last year and it came because of limitations on the offensive line. The Hoosiers deserved to be in the Playoff in 2024 because they dominated everyone they were better than. However, when they faced Ohio State and Notre Dame the defects along the lines showed up. This year they brought in Pat Coogan (Notre Dame) and Kahlil Benson (Colorado) to shore up the line and it has paid off. Teams have to match IU’s toughness this year, not the other way around.

3) And if you didn’t hit on this in the last question, is the addition of Fernando Mendoza what pushed Indiana over the hump, or do you think he more benefitted from the program and Cignetti’s system?

Fernando Mendoza has been great for IU and I know people look at his stats and say ‘meh’, but he sat the fourth quarters (and most second halves) against six teams. His work ethic fits this team so well, so it’s not just numbers and physical talent. He works harder than anyone else. His skills were evident coming to IU, but Cignetti and the offensive staff have developed him into a Heisman winner.

4) The Hoosiers average a staggering 40 rushing attempts per game in a real bully-ball type of offense. If Alabama is able to hold the rushing attack to a stalemate, how do you think the Hoosier offense would do in a heavy drop-back game plan?

IU is averaging that many rushes because in six of their 12 games IU was blowing out opponents in the second half. IU won three conference games by 50+ points. People will say IU ran up the score, but IU was running with a back up quarterback and a fourth-string running back.

IU has found ways to win in many different ways this year. They went to Iowa and won a defensive battle. They went to Oregon and beat the Ducks by 10 (IU is 2-0 in Autzen all-time). IU ran enough against Ohio State, Iowa and Oregon to keep the defense honest. The Hoosiers have four very good receivers and a quarterback who can pick people apart when needed. 

5) Funny enough, a significant bit of Alabama’s coaching staff came from Indiana. Nick Saban hired away David Ballou as the strength coach back in 2019, then head coach Kalen DeBoer pulled a few of his own guys in Kane Wommack and Nick Sheridan. How did you feel about DeBoer and Wommack, specifically, during their time there?

I loved interacting with all four of those coaches. They treated us with respect and gave thoughtful answers. They were a big part of the success IU had in 2019 and 2020 and the hole they left when they moved on was too much for Tom Allen to fill and ultimately cost him his job.

6) Based on what you know about Alabama, what position/coaching/scheme/player matchup are you most confident about Indiana being able to exploit? And what are you most worried about?

I keep going back to how teams have to match Indiana’s toughness. Every time IU went against a more talented team on paper they had to play up to IU’s toughness.

Alabama is super talented, especially in the passing game. If Ryan Williams can figure it out, that receiving corps with tight end Josh Cuevas is scary good.

7) Do you have any freshmen or sophomores that may not be full-time players yet, but you think will be future 1st round draft picks?

IU hasn’t had a first round draft pick since 1994, so I really don’t think about that.

8) Success quickly breeds expectations. 18 months ago, I’m sure you would have been utterly thrilled to just be in the conversation for playoffs. But today, is anything short of a national championship going to be a disappointment to you?

To be honest, no it’s not a disappointment. This sport is not just who can win the ESPN Invitational.While I would be thrilled if IU wins it all, a loss would not discount anything that has happened to this point. IU went 12-0 in the regular season, ended a 30-game losing streak to Ohio State and won their third Big Ten Title and is playing Alabama in the Rose Bowl for a shot to win a national championship in a few weeks and I am supposed to let a potential loss wash that all away? 

9) Because we must…. Who do you predict wins this game, and how does it go?

I will say IU wins 24-14. The forecast is calling for rain and it should be lower scoring with two very good defenses duking it out