Nick Saban Doesn't Think College Football Fans Regard Indiana Highly Enough

The former Crimson Tide head coach isn't buying into the notion that Alabama will have an easy time with the Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl.

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban is on stage at ESPN College GameDay ahead of the University of Oklahoma-Michigan College football game on Sep 6, 2025 in Norman. | Steve Sisney/For The Oklahoman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Indiana football team has undergone a rapid transformation over the past two seasons. That much is clear two days away from the No. 1 Hoosiers' Rose Bowl matchup against No. 9 Alabama in the College Football Playoff. Indiana is 13-0 and has only lost twice since the start of last season, defeating Ohio State to win the Big Ten Championship Game earlier this month.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy. The program reached its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25. Indiana hasn't had as much success in football as many of its Big Ten peers over the past several decades, and that has led former Alabama coach Nick Saban to believe that college football fans are not giving this season's team its due.

While on a recent golfing trip, Saban was told by a friend that Indiana should be a victory for the Crimson Tide, with Saban's friend adding that he was having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that the Hoosiers are in this position in football. Saban did not agree at all that Indiana should be written off.

"People still don't have the proper respect for Indiana. I'm not saying that's true for Alabama's football team," Saban said on "The Pat McAfee Show" Tuesday. "I know their coaches have respect and I know the players have respect... I'm just saying from a fan perspective. Fans don't look at the game from a technical perspective like we all do. Indiana is a damn good team."

This has been the case since the hiring of Curt Cignetti in 2023. The Hoosiers won their first 10 games under Cignetti's watch last year and made the first 12-team College Football Playoff. Cignetti was Alabama's wide receivers coach under Saban from 2007 through the 2010-11 campaign, after which he became the head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The Hoosiers hired Cignetti away from James Madison, which made this season's College Football Playoff.

"Curt Cignetti, to me, does a great job. Their team does not beat themselves very often. You've gotta beat them and it's gonna be a challenge," Saban said.

Multiple Alabama (11-3) players have also pointed out Indiana's lack of a tendency to make errors, including nose tackle Tim Keenan III and running back Jam Miller. The 2026 Rose Bowl is scheduled to air nationally on ESPN at 3 p.m. CT on New Year's Day.