PASADENA, Calif. — Indiana is a really good football team this year. They are 13-0 for a reason, and have answered the bell for every challenge. They are the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, and they've earned that, too.

It's on Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack to figure out a way to slow them down in Thursday's Rose Bowl game, a College Football Playoff quarterfinal. He's had 13 days to prepare — ''which is plenty of time,'' he says, but he also knows it's going to take Alabama's best effort to beat Indiana.

Wommack has a ton of respect for Indiana, and he's unwavering about it. They have good players, and he probably knows this Indiana coaching staff better than anyone, That's because he played against Curt Cignetti and his crew in 2023 when they were all at James Madison and Wommack was the head coach at South Alabama.

He knows what they like to do. Sure, they've tweaked and improved and added many new things, but the core concepts are still there with Indiana.

”Yeah, they are legit for sure,'' Wommack told me during an interview Tuesday in Pasadena. "I think they’re probably the most disciplined, the most detailed, they know who they are, their kids have confidence in what they’re doing — and it all shows up on tape. They are very efficient in what they do, very detailed in what they do, they always have great answers. It’s not an overly complicated system and I think that’s why they’re able to play effectively and efficiently, even though they have different quarterbacks every year.

 “When I played James Madison in 2023 when I was at South Alabama, I feel like I’m facing a very similar offense — with new wrinkles, of course. I think they have done a great job of expanding their offensive system based off of what their quarterback has allowed them to do. Obviously, Fernando (Mendoza) has allowed them to do much more in the passing game, but they don’t get too far outside of themselves, and I think that’s what makes them great.''

Impressed with Indiana's efficiency

Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy thanks to the 13 wins, 2,980 passing yards and 33 touchdown passes with just six interceptions. Indiana also averages 221 rushing yards per game, good for No. 10 in the nation, and a stat that often gets overlooked on a team with a Heisman-winning quarterback.

Indiana hung 50-plus on six different teams this year, and their margin of victory over 13 games (27.6 ppg) is No. 2 in the country, behind only Texas Tech. But they've also made a lot of big plays in the fourth quarter to win huge road games at Oregon, Iowa and Penn State.

Whatever it takes, the Hoosiers get it done.

“You rarely see them get off kilter, no matter the situation. They obviously do a great job of managing themselves so they don’t get out of position as a football team very often,'' said Wommack, who coached at Indiana himself for three years from 2018 to 2020. "You don’t see them in major deficits — they don’t fall behind 17-0 (like Alabama did in the first round against Oklahoma)— and they will play the game whichever way it needs to be played.

"If they need a two-minute drive at the end of a game, they have the ability to do that. They can play the keep-away game and play position football with you. If you allow them to do those things, they will just bleed you down the field. They’re good at explosives and those one-on-one shots, and their players really compete for the ball.

"What’s impressive to me, those big plays in those games that matter the most, they tend to step up in those moments. That’s what any great game will come down to, the best players stepping up in the biggest moments, and right now they are doing that better than anybody in the country.''

Finding a way to get pressure 

The biggest contrast between these two teams is the loss total. While Indiana is perfect, Alabama has lost three times this season. They were embarrassed in Week 1 against a Florida State team that would lose seven games, they lost at home to Oklahoma in November and were embarrassed 28-7 by Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.

A common thread in the losses was Alabama's inability to rush the passer. They had zero sacks at FSU, and just three tackles for loss. They only had one sack vs. Georgia. Those are not typical numbers for Alabama through the years.

Wommack admits it's been an issue, and they need to find new ways to disrupt Mendoza and the Hoosiers on Thursday. He also knows that won't be easy, because Indiana's offensive line is one of the best in the game, and Mendoza is very good with quick-hit throws. 

“There’s no question that when you can’t get pressure on a quarterback that it changes the outcome of the game,'' Wommack said. "This is going to be hard to get pressure on them because of the way they play. They are so efficient and getting the ball out of his hands quickly, so you have to be careful with how much pressure you bring from different places.

"There are a lot of ways to affect a quarterback, and we’re going to have a few different variations in how we do that. But ultimately, when you can’t affect the quarterback, it does change the outcome one way or another.''

Plenty of time to prepare

Alabama beat Oklahoma in Norman on Dec. 19, so they've had nearly two full weeks to prepare. Wommack said they've been able to prepare well for the Hoosiers, and don't expect to be surprised by anything. 

“I think coaching staffs have become so efficient in what we do. We can analyze a lot of data these days in a very short period of time and can come up with game plans very quickly,'' Wommack said. "Especially by the end of the season, you have a rep base that you can account for and you can change this or tweak that based on your own self-scout.

"With two weeks to prepare, that’s plenty of time to have everything you need in the game plan. And honestly, anything more than that, it gets a little stale sometimes. With 35 days to prepare for bowl games sometimes, it can get a little stagnant. I think we’re right there in that sweet spot.''

And while Wommack says Indiana deserves all the love that Indiana gets, he really likes his Alabama defense right now, too. They are as healthy as they've been in a long time, and they're ready to shine on Thursday.

“We’re probably the most battle-tested team in the country. We have shown that we have a lot of ways to fight,'' Wommack said. "We’ve been down 17, we’ve had to hold leads. We’re so battle-tested that it puts us in a position to execute at a really high level at the end of the year.''

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