What Indiana learned from watching Alabama's CFP win over Oklahoma
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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 told reporters on Saturday afternoon.
The No. 1 Hoosiers (13-0) will face No. 9 Alabama (11-3) for the first time in this year’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.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football impressed with Alabama’s team culture, resiliency
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