After taking care of No. 8 seed Oklahoma in the opening round of the College Football Playoff, No. 9 seed Alabama now has to take on the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl.
According to Fox Sports' Joel Klatt, the Crimson Tide face a better team in Indiana, and it "would be a large upset" if they beat the Hoosiers.
"Indiana, they might not blow you away with the stars next to their names as it relates to where they were rated coming out of high school, but rest assured, when it comes to the NFL Draft, there's a ton of these Indiana players that are going to get drafted," Klatt explained on "The Next Round."
"This idea that it's like, well, it's just this upstart Indiana team —no, no, no, they're the number one seed for a reason," he later added. "And candidly, this is where I think I will lose your fans: it would be a major upset if Alabama won this game. They are not as good a team as Indiana. They are not as sound on the defensive side. They are not as sound on the offensive side. They're not as balanced. The quarterback play is equaled out because Mendoza is so good. He's every bit Simpson's equal."
"Alabama is used to playing in games 98% of the time where they unequivocally have the better team as opposed to across the field. That is not the case this week in the Rose Bowl against Indiana," Klatt continued. "I know that is wild to hear."
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