Alabama Embracing Underdog Role Ahead of Rose Bowl Clash with Indiana
It’s not often you see Alabama walking into a College Football Playoff game as the underdog. But that’s exactly the position the Crimson Tide find themselves in heading into their Rose Bowl showdown against top-ranked Indiana. And for a team that’s spent the better part of two decades as college football’s Goliath, it’s a role they seem more than ready to embrace.
The early line out of Vegas has Alabama as a 6.5-point underdog - a number that reflects just how much respect Indiana has earned this season. The Hoosiers come in with the Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, a high-powered offense, and a defense that’s done more than hold its own. The advanced metrics back them up, and the experts are leaning heavily in their favor.
But if you think Alabama is flinching, think again.
Quarterback Ty Simpson made it clear after the Tide’s dramatic comeback win over Oklahoma that the outside noise - the doubts, the dismissals, the predictions that they didn’t belong - has only fueled them. That fire was evident in the second half of the Oklahoma game, where Alabama dug deep and found another gear when it mattered most.
And just in case they needed more motivation, they didn’t have to wait long. In the immediate aftermath of that win, CBS Sports analyst Richard Johnson didn’t hold back, questioning Alabama’s legitimacy in the playoff picture and suggesting that anyone picking the Tide to beat Indiana is “just picking helmets.”
That’s the kind of quote that ends up plastered across the locker room wall.
Johnson pointed to Alabama’s win over Oklahoma as more of a collapse by the Sooners than a triumph by the Tide. His take?
Indiana won’t make the same mistakes. They won’t beat themselves.
And if Alabama’s banking on another second-half meltdown from their opponent, they’ll be in for a rude awakening.
But that’s the thing about this Alabama team - they’re not banking on anything. They’re preparing.
They’re grinding. And under Kalen DeBoer, they’ve become a team that doesn’t need to dominate wire-to-wire to win.
They’ve shown they can take a punch, regroup, and come back swinging.
This version of Alabama might not have the star-studded roster of past national title runs, but what they do have is grit - and a chip on their shoulder that’s growing by the day.
DeBoer has quietly instilled a culture of resilience in Tuscaloosa. It’s not flashy, but it’s effective.
His team doesn’t rattle easily, and they don’t fold when things get tough. That comeback against Oklahoma wasn’t just a one-off - it was a reflection of a team that believes it belongs, regardless of what the oddsmakers or analysts say.
Indiana deserves the respect it’s getting. They’ve earned it with a season of dominance and a quarterback playing at an elite level.
But dismissing Alabama entirely? That’s a risky bet.
Because if there’s one thing history has taught us, it’s that Alabama doesn’t need to be the favorite to be dangerous. Give them a reason to feel slighted - give them bulletin board material - and they’ll use it. Not as a crutch, but as fuel.
Come New Year’s Day, the Tide won’t be walking into the Rose Bowl looking for validation. They’ll be coming to win.
And whether the rest of the country believes in them or not, Alabama believes in itself. That might just be enough.