When Alabama football faces Indiana on Thursday in the Rose Bowl, it will be battling the No. 1 team in the country. The IU roster was built up over the past two seasons by head coach Curt Cignetti, who has taken the Hoosiers to heights the program hasn’t reached in decades.

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.

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He used to be the boss of Indiana’s coach Curt Cignetti when Cignetti was Alabama’s receivers coach from 2007-10. And now, Cignetti will face Saban’s former team, led by Saban’s replacement, Kalen DeBoer. On Wednesday in a press conference, DeBoer was asked about his conversations with his predecessor and what DeBoer has gained from them.

Saban knows that the Alabama is not overlooking Indiana—both head coach Kalen DeBoer and quarterback Ty Simpson offered significant praise for the Hoosiers ahead of the Rose Bowl—but still feels they are not getting taken as seriously as they should on a national level.