No. 1 Indiana 38, No. 9 Alabama 3: Upon Further Review

Alabama football was destroyed by No. 1 Indiana 38-3 in the Rose Bowl on Thursday, bringing an end to the No. 9 Crimson Tide's 2025-26 season in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. Alabama was down 17-0 at halftime after a scoreless first quarter by both teams and could not get into the end zone for the first time all season in what was its worst loss in recent memory.

"We can be upset because losing doesn't sit well with us, and we can be frustrated about it, but that's what our program is going to be, is upset when these types of situations happen. We've got to use it to fuel us moving forward," head coach Kalen DeBoer said. "I'm going to be proud. Proud of these guys, and proud of who they are and what we accomplished this year. We came up short of our goal."

The Crimson Tide closed out the second season of DeBoer's tenure with an overall record of 11-4, along with a berth in the SEC title game and the first College Football Playoff bowl game for the program since the 2024 Rose Bowl, Nick Saban's final game. Alabama's Dec. 19 victory against Oklahoma in the first round of the 12-team playoff, revenge for losses during the regular season in both 2024 and 2025, served as one of the high points of the campaign.

Player of the Game: Backup quarterback Austin Mack played all but one series in the second half after starter Ty Simpson was injured on a hit in the second quarter. The redshirt sophomore entered the game with his team down 24-0, completing 11 passes on 16 attempts for 103 yards. The lone scoring drive of the game for Alabama, resulting in a Conor Talty field goal late in the third quarter, was quarterbacked by Mack.

"Every week, I kind of trained myself with that mindset of, 'I'm one snap away,'" Mack said after the game. "Today, that was the case. I knew I was ready... Being able to move your offense down the field definitely is gonna give you some confidence. But I feel like, even though I played somewhat well, there's so much more I gotta improve on if I ever wanna be the kind of player I wanna be."

Play of the Game: The Hoosiers (14-0) had a 3-0 advantage with 12:44 to go until halftime, and Alabama faced fourth down from its own 34-yard line. The Crimson Tide had multiple chances to decide what it wanted to do on the play, including after baiting Indiana into using a timeout and then calling one of its own (with punter Blake Doud on the field) when the Hoosiers didn't jump offsides after that. Alabama ultimately went with a direct snap to running back Daniel Hill. Hill put the ball into the hands of wide receiver Germie Bernard, who could not reach the line to gain, forcing a turnover on downs. Indiana scored its first touchdown of the afternoon on the ensuing drive. DeBoer said postgame that he felt the choice to go for it in that spot came down to possessions.

Stat of the Game: Until Thursday, Alabama had not lost by 30-plus points at all during the 21st century. It has been defeated by exactly 21 points twice in the DeBoer era (November 2024 at Oklahoma and December 2025 at the SEC Championship Game against Georgia). The 35-point defeat in the Rose Bowl well exceeded that mark, and was the first time Alabama lost by 30 or more points since December of 1998 in the Music City Bowl, when the program fell 38-7 to Virginia Tech.

10 things you may not have noticed...

1. Ty Simpson had the lowest average yards per completion of any game in his first year as the starting quarterback.

Simpson managed 12 completed passes before his exit because of a rib injury, but didn't get much going in the passing game, posting 5.6 yards per completion. He had 6.4 yards per completion in November during the Iron Bowl, which was the pre-Rose Bowl low for the redshirt junior. Alabama only had 193 total yards Thursday, and 67 of them were Simpson's passing yards.

2. Ryan Williams' six catches tied his second-most in a game this season.

Williams had six catches on Oct. 4 in Alabama's win against Vanderbilt. He hauled in seven passes two games later at South Carolina, but then his numbers decreased as drop issues continued to plague the sophomore. Williams made six receptions for 53 yards (with a long of 26 yards) against the Hoosiers, marking his most catches in a single matchup since that South Carolina game. It wasn't exactly the huge breakout DeBoer was anticipating, but Williams had a good outing.

3. LT Overton was Alabama's second-leading tackler in his return, with a season-high seven.

Senior Bandit LT Overton missed two of Alabama's biggest games since he arrived before the 2024 season, against Georgia and Oklahoma, before being cleared to return from an undisclosed issue in time for the Rose Bowl. Overton's seven total tackles were second on the Crimson Tide team, but also the most he had in a game all season.

4. Lotzeir Brooks did not have a catch in the Rose Bowl after being one of the Crimson Tide's key players in Norman.

Freshman wideout Lotzeir Brooks' absence from the Rose Bowl stat sheet on offense is especially puzzling given how vital he was in the first round of the College Football Playoff opposite Oklahoma. In that game, he caught both of Simpson's touchdown passes, making huge plays on big third and fourth downs. On Thursday, Brooks wasn't thrown to until the second half, notching one tackle on special teams.

5. Austin Mack's passer rating was higher than any that Simpson had registered in four of his past five games.

Mack's 122.8 Rose Bowl passer rating eclipsed Simpson's by 12.6 points; neither had a touchdown and each had an identical number of passes. The last time Simpson had a passer rating higher than that outside of the College Football Playoff was on Nov. 15, when he reached 135.0 against Oklahoma at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide starting quarterback rose to the occasion in the rematch against the Sooners last month, with a 152.0 passer rating to go with 232 yards and two scores.

6. The game was the first time since 2023 that Jam Miller appeared and did not get a carry.

Senior Jam Miller's final season of college eligibility was marred by injuries, and he returned at Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff after a fourth-quarter injury in the Iron Bowl cost him a chance to appear in the SEC Championship Game. Miller saw the field during his last collegiate contest, but didn't log any rushing attempts. The last time that happened was in October of 2023 against Tennessee. Miller had one carry for 11 yards in the 2024 Rose Bowl.

7. Fernando Mendoza only threw the ball four times in the second half.

When a team's rushing attack is successful enough to put 215 yards on the books, that takes a lot of pressure off the quarterback. Indiana did just that for Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who completed all four of his second-half passes and finished his day 14-for-16 with 192 yards and three touchdowns.

8. Edge rusher Yhonzae Pierre was the game's leader in sacks after not having had at least one sack since Nov. 8.

There will not be many overall statistical leaders for the losing team in a game decided by a 35-point margin. Wolf linebacker Yhonzae Pierre, one of the Crimson Tide's breakout players from this past season, made himself a stat leader with 1.5 sacks, sharing credit for one in the first quarter with linebacker Deontae Lawson and collecting one of his own for a nine-yard loss in the second quarter. Indiana had three sacks on the day, but no player was given credit for more than one. Pierre had two sacks against LSU on Nov. 8, then a half-sack at Oklahoma in December.

9. All of Tim Keenan III's tackles in the final four games of his collegiate career were solo tackles.

Another veteran player whose college career ended with the Rose Bowl loss, nose guard Tim Keenan III recorded at least one tackle in four of his last five outings. All nine of his tackles in that span were of the solo variety; that includes the two he got against the Hoosiers. Keenan missed the first three games of the regular season because of a lower-body injury, but appeared in every contest thereafter, setting a season best of four tackles in the SEC Championship Game.

10. Alabama safety Bray Hubbard led all defenders in the contest in both total tackles and solo tackles.

The Crimson Tide did not force any Indiana turnovers in Pasadena, but that didn't stop junior safety Bray Hubbard from making his presence felt. He sacked Mendoza, costing the Hoosiers 11 yards, on the first drive of the game. He finished his afternoon with eight tackles (seven solo). The seven solo tackles actually did not establish a new career high for Hubbard, because he had eight in November of 2024 during a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma.