Opening Rose Bowl Odds – Alabama vs Indiana Prediction & Preview

• The top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers are 6.5-point favorites over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl
• Alabama defeated Oklahoma in the opening round of the College Football Playoff
• Read below for early Alabama vs Indiana odds, prediction and preview

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The Indiana Hoosiers (13-0) now know their first CFP opponent on the road to a potential National Championship. They’ll face the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-3) in the Rose Bowl after ‘Bama knocked off Oklahoma Friday night in the first round.

It will be 25 days since Indiana knocked off Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship. Still, the books aren’t buying any arguments about rust or rest: the Hoosiers are opening as 6.5-point favorites in the college football odds.

The Rose Bowl goes on New Year’s Day at 4pm ET from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, with ESPN carrying the broadcast.

See below for the Rose Bowl odds, preview and my early Alabama vs Indiana betting prediction.

Alabama vs Indiana Odds – Rose Bowl

Indiana opens as a 6.5-point favorite over Alabama in the Rose Bowl odds, with the total set at 49.5.

The Hoosiers open as -245 favorites on the moneyline, giving Curt Cignetti’s team a 71% implied probability to advance to the semi-finals in the CFP Bracket.

Odds as of December 19 at 11:55 pm ET at DraftKings. Be sure to check out the best DraftKings promo code before placing a bet on any College Football Playoff matchup.

Alabama vs Indiana Matchup Preview

The Hoosiers have already completed the first part of the dream season scenario, running the table to arrive at the College Football Playoff as the top seed after a 13-0 campaign, capped with a gut-it-out 13-10 win over OSU in the Big Ten title game.

More than three weeks between games can be an issue, but there might not be a team more insulated than Indiana, simply because there are so many ways they can take a team apart.

They sport the no. 3 scoring offense in college football, fronted by freshly-minted Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who led the nation with 33 TD passes against just six interceptions, while throwing for 2,980 yards.

It’s not a one-man band, though: Mendoza can lean on a running game that was tops in the Big Ten and 10th overall in the country, churning out 221.2 yards per game at a healthy 5.49 yards per carry clip.

The defense is equally dominant, ranking second nationally while allowing just 10.9 points per contest. Only two teams touched the 20-point plateau against the Hoosiers this season: then-No. 3 Oregon (a 30-20 win) and Penn State (a 27-24 victory).

The Alabama Crimson Tide — the first 3-loss team to make the year-end tourney — took a while to wake up, falling behind 17-0 to the Sooners, but the bluebloods of the CFP dug their way out of that hole by halftime, and went on the roll the Sooners by a score of 34-24.

Without much of a run game — which is par for the course for the ‘Tide, who rank 14th in the SEC in rushing yards per game — quarterback Ty Simpson did much of the heavy lifting, throwing for 232 yards and two TDs, both to receiver Lotzeir Brooks.

‘Bama’s dormant pass rush came to life in the second half. A team that totalled just 25 sacks in 13 games, the Crimson Tide sacked OU quarterback John Mateer four times, while forcing an interception.

Alabama averaged 31.2 points per game this year, so they can theoretically go toe-to-toe with Indiana in a shootout, but they also bring a defense that allowed 17.4 points per game, which ranked third in the SEC.

Early Alabama vs Indiana Prediction

• Pick: Indiana -6.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

Indiana has too many weapons for Alabama to contain in my Rose Bowl prediction.

Even if you can slow down Mendoza, you have to contend with a three-headed running back monster in Roman Hemby, Kaelon Black and Khobie Martin. Each ran for at least six TDs and all averaged at least 5.2 yards a pop.

And even if you do force that offensive machine off the field, you’re up against a defense that allows just 257.2 yards per game, including 77.6 rushing yards, while leading the Big Ten with 39 sacks.

Now, there is an upset case here. Alabama owns the No. 1 pass defense in the SEC, holding teams to 157.7 yards per game. The Hoosiers’ three closest games this season came against Iowa, Penn State and Ohio State – all Top 6 in the Big Ten in passing yards allowed. Each held Mendoza under 235 yards passing.

But keeping it close isn’t the same as winning. None of those teams got over the hump. Indiana should overwhelm the Crimson Tide to open their CFP run.