Alabama and Indiana have had little in common when it comes to football.
For more than a century, the program has defined dominance in college football. At the same time, the Hoosiers have operated on a different scale, measuring success by progress, persistence and occasional breakthroughs.
The programs have never met on the field, their histories unfolding on entirely different planes. Yet when No. 1 Indiana faces No. 9 Alabama in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl, a sense of familiarity will exist – at least for the two head coaches – as they look across the sideline.