Kirk Herbstreit blasts college football team's effort during Rose Bowl blowout

Kirk Herbstreit couldn't really believe what he was seeing as the Rose Bowl game unfolded, and wondered if a historic college football program may have damaged its reputation.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It was a battle of blue blood against new blood as Alabama and Indiana faced off in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal game on New Year’s Day, but only the new blood showed up.

Watching it unfold live, college football’s most well known analyst and broadcaster couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Kirk Herbstreit had some choice words for Alabama during the course of its 38-3 loss to top seed Indiana, suggesting that the program may have done some damage to its overall prestige given the quality, or lack thereof, of their play on the field.

Bama has hurt themselves

“This is getting tough for Bama. This subjective world in which we live with teams, who should be in, who should be out, all that kind of thing. Bama has definitely hurt themselves as far as their reputation, on this big stage, not just this year, but overall,” Herbstreit lamented during the Rose Bowl broadcast.

Not just this year, but overall. Those are tough words for the program that has helped define college football in this century, but the standard has clearly fallen from the days when Nick Saban’s team dismantled opponents on a regular basis.

Alabama’s listless defensive performance and the complete absence of a rushing offense conspired against the SEC runners-up in their second exposure in the playoff this year.

Add to that an ugly showing in a 28-7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game early last month, and it’s clear Alabama is putting an inferior product on the field.

'They're just existing'

Herbstreit offered a brutal assessment of the Crimson Tide’s performance as its defense folded in the wake of another Indiana drive in the third quarter of the Rose Bowl.

“It feels like Alabama, it’s just strange to see. They’re just existing. They’re just out there,” Herbstreit said.

He added: “Nobody is playing with any fire. It’s almost like they feel defeated. Like there’s nothing we can do. Nobody’s making an impact... Hands on their hips. They’re just kind of out there.”

Now, they’re out of the College Football Playoff, and doubtless there will be plenty of debate around whether they deserved to be in at all.

Alabama's worst loss this century

What we do know is that Alabama’s 35-point loss is the worst for the program in this century, indeed the worst for the school since 1998.

That’s on Kalen DeBoer, who now finds himself a little further back in his effort to prove himself the worthy successor to Nick Saban.