Despite the Indiana Hoosiers' unbeaten season, which included a 13-10 win in the Big Ten title game against the previously-ranked No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes that earned them the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and earned quarterback Fernando Mendoza the Heisman Trophy, SEC pundit Paul Finebaum is unconvinced that the Hoosiers can upend the Alabama Crimson Tide.
While Finebaum acknowledges coach Curt Cignetti's effortless turnaround, Finebaum suggests the expectations are too much of a burden.
“At this moment, I feel pretty good (about Alabama),” Finebaum said on "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning’ “I want to think a lot more about it, but, I mean, I think, you know, from a pure matchup standpoint, it’s not great because of how strong and disciplined Indiana is defensively. But I think there’s a lot of pressure on Indiana in this game.”
That "pressure," according to Finebaum, is simply lack of big time postseason experience.
"I know this year is not a direct comparison to last year with the four bye teams because the circumstances are dramatically different. But, I think Indiana could be a little bit vulnerable, just sitting around doing nothing right now watching football while Alabama, you know, has a lot of momentum going,” Finebaum said.
Should this come into play, it will be interesting to what version of both teams show up. But for now, it seems Finebaum is set with backing the Tide.
Kickoff is set for New Year's Day at 4 p.m. ET.