(Bloomington) — Just two years ago, an Indiana-Alabama matchup would have seemed like a “buy game” for the Crimson Tide.

On  New Year’s Day, it will be the Rose Bowl matchup in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

“Definitely have our work cut out for us,” admits humble Hoosier linebacker Aiden Fisher. “It’s a really good offensive line: big, physical. A lot of playmakers on the edge and really good running backs as well. These last couple of weeks, they’ve been able to get their running game going and I think that has helped them a lot.”

That’s a kind evaluation by Fisher, as IU’s rush defense is 10th in the country while Bama’s rushing offense is just the 118th-best in the nation.

Believe it or not, it’s Alabama that could use the help. The Crimson Tide are 6.5-point underdogs to the top-ranked Hoosiers for Thursday evening’s matchup.

For sophomore linebacker Rolijah Hardy, the focus is on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson

“With a guy like Simpson, you want to have those DB’s playing coverage a little bit longer if he does escape,” noted Hardy. “You want to have those d-linemen try to contain the quarterback and just be able to do their assignments. And then of course, you have the linebackers. You see him, go get him.”

A little extra pressure on the defensive backs is just find with talented Hoosier junior D’Angelo Ponds.

“They got talented players just as well as we do,” shrugs the junior from Miami. “They do have a great quarterback and great receivers as well, but I feel we match up pretty well with them.”

The Hoosiers enter the Rose Bowl ranked #2 in scoring defense (10.8 ppg) and fourth in total defense (257.2 yards per game). Thursday’s matchup in Pasadena is set for 4 p.m. ET and will be carried on ESPN.