The Fourth-Down Decision That Snowballed Into Alabama's Brutal Rose Bowl Loss

The Crimson Tide failed to convert a fourth-down attempt inside its own territory in the second quarter, and it sparked Indiana's blowout performance.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer prepares to take the field for the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Alabama doesn’t lose very often, but most of the time when it does, the Crimson Tide falls in a thrilling four-quarter battle.

That’s not what happened on Thursday. No. 9 Alabama was blown out by No. 1 Indiana 38-3 in the Rose Bowl. It was the Crimson Tide’s worst losing margin since the 1998 Music City Bowl against Virginia Tech (38-7).

But this College Football Playoff quarterfinal contest was once a close battle, as it was the first scoreless first quarter in a Rose Bowl since 2000, and Indiana turned on the scoreboard with a field goal early in the second quarter.

However, on Alabama’s next drive, head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb made a call that sparked a fire lit on Indiana’s end. On fourth-and-one on its own 31-yard line, the Crimson Tide remained on the field. Running back Daniel Hill lined up in the shotgun and wide receiver Germie Bernard moved across the line of scrimmage for a jet touch pass, but he failed to reach the first-down marker.

Indiana took advantage of the starting field position, as Hoosiers Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza found wide receiver Charlie Becker in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown after five plays.

“Just felt like it was going to be one of those games where you've got to take advantage of possessions,” DeBoer said during the postgame press conference. “Obviously, when you fall short, it's the wrong decision, right?

“We don't get the first down, give them a shorter field. They make a nice play on third down, nice throw and catch. And it's a belief in the guys on offense, a belief in the guys on defense that worst-case scenario we can hold them to a field goal. It obviously didn't work out that way.”

The jet pass play has worked multiple times for Alabama this season with numerous combinations of players. Bernard scored the game-winning touchdown against South Carolina with it, and freshman wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks had a fourth-down conversion in the regular-season loss to Oklahoma with it.

Following the first touchdown, the Hoosiers scored again with 17 seconds left in the first half to take a commanding 17-0 lead. That drive was set up via a fumble by Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who “cracked” his rib on the play and only played one drive in the second half before being taken out.

And before you knew it, the Hoosiers finished the game with 407 total yards compared to Alabama’s 193 and doubled the Crimson Tide in first downs. Maybe Indiana was destined to win this one, but a blowout loss may have been prevented if Alabama didn’t go for it on fourth down inside its own territory.

“I try not to be reckless but try to be aggressive,” DeBoer said. "We wanted to make sure, you saw we put a group out there, the punt/tried the hard count, just giving me a little more time to think about what my decision would be, get some of the guys on the sideline to talk through the play call.

“I really felt like, after even during that point, I was committed to going for it and wanting to try to make it happen. And, again, that's where you've got to be careful as a head coach when you make those decisions because it can go the other way. But I think you're just looking at the game, we had to take advantage of every possession for it to end up the way we wanted it to. So that was one of them.”