Paul Finebaum labels Rose Bowl as the worst loss in Alabama history

The Alabama Crimson Tide saw their season come to an end in the Rose Bowl. For a lot of teams, making it to the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff is a massive success. For Alabama, it wasn’t a national championship, and when you add to that the way they lost, it felt like a disaster.

In the end, it was a 38-3 Rose Bowl loss to Indiana. There was a chance the score could have been a wider margin too. What made it worse, as Paul Finebaum explained on The Matt Barrie Show, is that locally nobody respected Indiana.

“I can tell you, in Alabama, where I live, nobody respected Indiana,” Paul Finebaum said. “They did not buy it. They simply didn’t believe in it. And, by the way, I was one of those who picked Alabama and could not defend it. I mean, you’re grasping for straws, but you’re going, ‘Okay, I’ve seen Alabama do this before.’ And that was such a significant and seminal moment in modern history because Indiana just beat them to a pulp.”

On the field, Alabama struggled offensively throughout. In the end, the Crimson Tide finished with just 193 total yards, including 23 rushing yards. Alabama was just 3/11 on third down and 0/4 on fourth down. Indiana more than doubled that total yards gained. Meanwhile, starting quarterback Ty Simpson would leave the game early with an injury after fumbling the ball.

“The cliche, but it’s also true, is Alabama just quit. I mean, Alabama basically said, ‘Let’s get this game over with.’ The final score was 38-3. It could have been whatever. The fact that Kalen DeBoer kicked a field goal in the second half just showed you that he did not want to be the only Alabama coach in 30 years to be shutout. There are so many historic moments that are associated,” Finebaum said. “But when that, that is the worst postseason loss in Alabama history. It’s the worst loss in 25 years. It’s really — I think it probably is the worst loss in history, when you consider the stage it was on.”

Finebaum explained that the frustration actually goes deeper for Alabama fans. Curt Cignetti, the Indiana coach, was on Alabama’s staff during the Nick Saban era. He was hired by Indiana in the same cycle the Crimson Tide hired Kalen DeBoer. Then, Indiana looked like Saban-era Alabama teams as they beat the Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl.

“And the fact that, you’ve heard this before but this is what got Alabama fans the most,” Finebaum said. “Is that the Alabama team, coached by Kalen DeBoer, who came over from Washington, was beaten down by a Nick Saban disciple in classic Saban fashion. That looked like a Nick Saban team that was beating Alabama senseless, that was making Alabama quit. And that really hurts. That cuts to the core. For all the good that I said and that everybody said two weeks ago, man, that 17-0 deficit in Norman, that game does not mean one thing. The only thing that game meant was that Oklahoma had an early exit in the Playoff. Kalen DeBoer and all the goodwill — I can’t tell you how many people I ran into over the weekend saying, ‘Is it too late for him to go to Michigan?'”

Now, Kalen DeBoer has turned his attention to the offseason and building the Alabama roster for next season. He does that knowing that the pressure is on to win and win big in Tuscaloosa.