Why Indiana football believes Alabama will 'push all their chips' in Rose Bowl
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BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football players learned a valuable lesson from watching Alabama's recent comeback victory over Oklahoma in the opening round of the College Football Playoff, but it didn't have anything to do with the Tide's personnel or scheme.
"I think it shows more of the team, the culture we are about to play," IU starting center Pat Coogan said Saturday afternoon.
The No. 1 Hoosiers (13-0) will face No. 9 Alabama (11-3) for the first time in this season's Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. The Tide reached the quarterfinals by erasing a 17-0 deficit in front of 83,550 fans at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
It tied for the largest comeback in the history of the CFP.
"Being down 17-0 anywhere against a quality opponent is tough, but especially away in a College Football Playoff game, that is really tough," Coogan said. "It's a credit to them and their ability to stay locked in and comeback and win. I think it shows the type of culture that they have down there and how big of a challenge it's going to be for us."
Alabama was outgained 118-12 in the first quarter while going three-and-out on its opening three possessions.
The Tide scored 27 unanswered points with each unit making critical plays — Ty Simpson threw a pair of touchdowns, Zabien Brown came up with a pick-six and Tim Keenan blocked a punt midway through the second quarter at midfield to set up a field goal.
Coogan said the kind of resiliency Alabama showed in those moments when they had to "push all their chips to the middle" showed the Hoosiers that no lead will be safe next week.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football's Pat Coogan on Alabama win vs Oklahoma in CFP
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