'This Team Is Not A Thing Anymore:' Alabama Confronts Reality Of Rose Bowl Rout

PASADENA, Calif.— Alabama football was humiliated in a 38-3 thrashing at the hands of Indiana in the Rose Bowl to end its 2025 season. The loss is the worst defeat the program has suffered this century and left the team distraught in its aftermath.

"We came up short of our goal. And I think the only emotion would be just sad for the guys," head coach Kalen DeBoer said. "Hard to look them in the eye because of the emotions that go through me when I think about what they've given to me and given to this program every single day."

The Crimson Tide was simply outclassed by the Hoosiers on both sides of the ball from start to finish. Alabama's defense had been among the nation's elite all season, limiting talented offenses on a weekly basis and regularly putting the Crimson Tide in a position to win games. That did not happen on Thursday, as the Hoosiers rushed for 192 yards and ended the game with four consecutive touchdown drives.

"Yet again I failed to get the job done," senior nose tackle Tim Keenan said. "I did a lot of good stuff, but not good enough."

Just two months ago, Alabama was playing as well as any team in the nation, on an eight-game winning streak that included a stretch of four straight victories over ranked opponents. This is a team that proved it could play at a championship level, only to crater in its biggest moment.

"There's just some frustration because I know this team is capable," receiver Ryan Williams said. "We know what it was. We just didn't execute at a high level."

With the emergence of leaders like Ty Simpson and a stacked defense and receiving corps, Alabama came into the year checking all of the boxes. Despite the season-opening loss to Florida State and the SEC Championship blowout against Georgia, Alabama had managed to get itself to 'The Granddaddy of Them All,' sitting just three wins away from a national championship. The dream was tangible. The end was right there in front of them. And in a span of just three hours, it all came crashing down.

"I'm just looking around my teammates, and I can't believe that I'm not teammates with them anymore," senior offensive lineman Geno VanDeMark said. "This team is not a thing anymore. It's a really tough pill for me to swallow."

As the clock hit zero in Pasadena, the reality of the defeat forced players to reflect on more than just the final score. For offensive guard Jaeden Roberts, the season was especially challenging: after being named to CBS Sports’ and The Sporting News’ Preseason All-American Teams, he started just four games and fell out of the rotation late in his fifth and final season. Even so, Roberts remained grateful for the opportunities he’d received and reflected on how special his time in crimson and white had been.

"It means so much. It means so much to be an alumni, to say that I went here," Roberts said. "I was the leader to give it all, even when my chances were slim. Even when some people didn't believe in me, I can say that I did everything. I was able to graduate with two degrees, and I was able to finish my senior year as I wanted to go out. I'm always happy to be a part of this team."

Roberts, Keenan, and VanDeMark were among the most emotional players in the locker room postgame— leaders who truly did give everything they could have to the program. As their careers end, they want this feeling of disappointment to stay with the rest of the team as Alabama looks to the future.

"I've already told a couple of guys to use this as fuel," VanDeMark said. "Don't ever forget this feeling. Don't ever forget the tears falling out of your brother's tearducts."

Despite Alabama playing for a conference championship, winning a playoff game, and competing in the Rose Bowl, the scale of the loss simply cannot be ignored. The sting of this defeat will linger deep into the offseason, but the team knows that emotion alone won't fix the mistakes that surfaced on Thursday.

"I can have motivation all I want," Williams said. "But at the end of the day, the job's got to get done. Everybody has a fire under them when you lose. The loss gives a little motivation, but motivation wears off. I know the young guys who just came in, and the guys who are here right now are ready to go, so I'm ready to get back to work."