Alabama football went down at the Rose Bowl in embarrassing fashion.
In one of the worst losses and performances for the Crimson Tide in the Kalen DeBoer era, No. 1 Indiana defeated No. 9 Alabama 38-3 on Thursday, Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl, a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game.
The Crimson Tide were kept to a third-quarter field goal and just 193 total yards of offense on the afternoon by the Hoosiers’ defense. Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was benched in the third quarter by DeBoer in what was described by ESPN as a ‘coach’s decision’ after Simpson sustained an injury following a hit he took in the second quarter.
The 35-point loss for the Crimson Tide is tied for the fourth-largest blowout in the history of the College Football Playoff.
The loss for Alabama also gives the Crimson Tide back-to-back four-loss seasons under DeBoer, which is something that hasn’t happened in Tuscaloosa since the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the latter of which was Nick Saban’s first season.
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns in the Hoosiers’ first bowl win since the 1991 Copper Bowl. The Hoosiers will now advance to the Peach Bowl, a CFP semifinal game against No. 5 Oregon on Friday, Jan. 9.
Given the dominance by the Hoosiers and the ugliness of the Crimson Tide’s performance at the Rose Bowl, college football social media didn’t hold back. Here’s a snippet of the reactions to the outcome of the CFP quarterfinal game:
College football reacts to Alabama’s performance vs Indiana in Rose Bowl:
Here’s a look at social media after Alabama’s performance in the Rose Bowl: