The Rose Bowl is usually where legends are made, but for anyone looking up the latest Alabama Crimson Tide football score, the New Year’s Day result was a total shock to the system. On January 1, 2026, the scoreboard at the end of the night read Indiana 38, Alabama 3. It wasn't just a loss. It was a historic dismantling that left fans in Tuscaloosa and across the country wondering how a Kalen DeBoer team could look so human on such a massive stage.
Honestly, the vibes were weird from the start. Alabama entered the game as the No. 9 seed, having just fought through a grueling season that included a massive comeback win against Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff. But against the No. 1 ranked Indiana Hoosiers, the Tide looked stuck in the mud. Ty Simpson, who has been the heartbeat of this offense, struggled to find any rhythm before eventually leaving the game with an elbow injury.
Why the Indiana game changed everything
You don't often see Bama get held to three points. In fact, it's basically unheard of in the modern era. The Hoosiers defense, led by Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza on the other side of the ball, completely suffocated the Tide. Alabama managed only 193 total yards. That's a staggering statistic for a program that usually puts up that much yardage in a single quarter.
Mendoza was surgical, throwing three touchdowns and making the Alabama secondary look uncharacteristically lost. By the time Austin Mack took over for an injured Simpson in the third quarter, the game was already spiraling. Mack led a nine-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in a field goal—the only time Alabama would see points all day.
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The game stayed 17-0 at the half, which felt manageable. Then the third quarter happened. Indiana poured it on, and a 25-yard touchdown run by Kaelon Black early in the fourth essentially ended the conversation. It was a quiet flight back to Alabama.
Breaking down the 2025-26 season results
If you’re tracking the Alabama Crimson Tide football score over the last few months, the season was actually a wild rollercoaster before the Rose Bowl crash. They finished 11-4 overall.
Let's look at how they got there:
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- The Highs: A massive 73-0 blowout against Louisiana-Monroe and a signature 24-21 win over Georgia in September.
- The Grinds: Gritty wins over Tennessee (37-20) and LSU (20-9) showed that the "LANK" mentality was still very much alive.
- The CFP First Round: The 34-24 victory over Oklahoma in Norman was arguably the peak. Ty Simpson threw for 232 yards, and Lotzeir Brooks—who hadn't scored all year—caught two huge touchdowns. They trailed by 17 in that game and came back. It was classic Alabama.
- The SEC Championship: A 28-7 loss to Georgia was a warning sign that the offense was starting to sputter against elite defenses.
Looking ahead to the 2026 schedule
The 2026 season is already looming, and the schedule looks like another gauntlet. Alabama opens at home on September 5 against East Carolina. It's the kind of "get right" game the program needs after the way the last one ended. But the real tests come fast. They host Florida State on September 19 and Georgia on October 10.
| Date | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 5 | East Carolina | Tuscaloosa |
| Sept 12 | Kentucky | Lexington |
| Sept 19 | Florida State | Tuscaloosa |
| Oct 10 | Georgia | Tuscaloosa |
| Oct 17 | Tennessee | Knoxville |
| Nov 28 | Auburn | Tuscaloosa |
The Iron Bowl returns to Bryant-Denny Stadium this year on November 28. After a 27-20 win over the Tigers last season, you know Hugh Freeze is going to have Auburn circling that date in red.
Can DeBoer keep the momentum?
There’s a lot of talk about whether the "Bama Standard" is slipping. Losing 38-3 in a playoff game is going to fuel that fire for months. However, 11 wins and a playoff victory in year two of the post-Saban era isn't exactly a failure. The main concern is the injury bug and depth. In the Rose Bowl, they looked thin at several key positions, and the transition at quarterback from Simpson to the younger guys like Austin Mack or Keelon Russell will be the story of the spring.
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The defense, usually a brick wall, allowed 33.4 points per game in their losses. That has to change. If Alabama wants to be back in the Rose Bowl (with a different result) in 2027, they have to find a way to stop the high-flying Big Ten offenses that seem to have found a gap in the SEC armor.
For those checking the Alabama Crimson Tide football score daily during the offseason, keep an eye on the transfer portal. DeBoer has been aggressive, and with a few key departures to the NFL, the roster will look significantly different by the time they hit the field in September.
To stay ahead of the curve, watch the spring game updates in April. That’s usually the first real look at who has taken the "leap" in the weight room. Focus on the offensive line development—if they can't protect the QB, the scoreboards in 2026 won't look much better than that rainy night in Pasadena.