JessN: Indiana Wrap-up: The Defeat Was in the Details

[JessN]

Indiana wrap-up: The defeat was in the details​

by Jess Nicholas, TideFans.com Editor-In-Chief
January 1, 2026

The closest analog to Indiana, among the SEC teams Alabama had faced in 2025, was the Oklahoma Sooners – if Oklahoma had an elite running game and a quarterback not prone to making two or three really bad decisions per game.

“If” is such a small word, but when "if" becomes "when," the landscape changes.

CONTINUE READING​

TideFans.com | By the Fans, For the Fans. - Indiana wrap-up: The defeat was in the details

The closest analog to Indiana, among the SEC teams Alabama had faced in 2025, was the Oklahoma Sooners – if Oklahoma had an elite running game and a quarterback not prone to making two or three rea…

news.tidefans.com

 

[Bamabuzzard]

You were much more gentle in your assessment than I expected. I'm very surprised nothing was mentioned about how much we got physically manhandled on both sides of the ball and how the lack of consistent physicality has seemingly become a staple in a DeBoer led Alabama team.

 

[Toddrn]

Time is the only thing that will tell if CKD is the man for the job. From what we have seen on the field it doesn't look like he is. At this point, I don't think we have any other option but to see how it plays out.

 

[Bama9001]

We got beat on offense. We got beat on special teams. We got beat on defense. We got overwhelmed in the coaching department. It felt like the team, especially the defense, just quit. It was just one game but that's the most favorable assessment I can come up with.

When do we get to see the offensive genius part? Two years and we've heard excuse after excuse but, by now, we should see a functional offense from offensive geniuses. That really is the most frustrating thing among a myriad of frustrating things.

 

[Tideflyer]

IMHO, got to fix the O line and improve the D line. Would personally love to see a commitment to developing a potent, physical run game ( see Indiana and aforementioned O line development), but I’m not sure at all that that’s in CKD’s DNA.

 

[BamaMoon]

We got beat on offense. We got beat on special teams. We got beat on defense. We got overwhelmed in the coaching department. It felt like the team, especially the defense, just quit. It was just one game but that's the most favorable assessment I can come up with.

When do we get to see the offensive genius part? Two years and we've heard excuse after excuse but, by now, we should see a functional offense from offensive geniuses. That really is the most frustrating thing among a myriad of frustrating things.

I watched to the bitter end. I DID NOT SEE QUIT. I saw some backups playing pretty hard.

The defense held their own as long as it was possible without any help/hope from our offense shortening the game much less scoring.

In the second half, the dam broke. We used to do this to teams. It doesn't mean we are entirely broken.

Where a team enforces its will is on the OL and running the ball. This is where drastic change needs to take place. Honestly, how in the world did we beat Georgia, Tenn., LSU, Auburn and OK in round one without any help from the OL or run game???

Get that ONE thing fixed, and we have championship potential!

 

[Padreruf]

Our lack of physicality on the OL and DL was glaring. I was surprised at how simple shifts in IU's defensive attack totally blunted anything we tried to do. Going to be an interesting off season -- and a critical one for the program and CKD & staff.

 

[BamaMoon]

You were much more gentle in your assessment than I expected. I'm very surprised nothing was mentioned about how much we got physically manhandled on both sides of the ball and how the lack of consistent physicality has seemingly become a staple in a DeBoer led Alabama team.

I think he is avoiding seeing this game through the embarrassment that kind of score/dominance usually brings.

We are sore losers (not you but as a fan base, because we don't lose enough to get good at it...and we don't want to get good at it!!!) but when we lose, we have got to stop with the tendency to burn it all down.

Jess mainly focused on the OL and DL. But the defense was plenty good to win a championship this year. The OL is where the BIG CHANGES have to start and JessN even alludes to how IU's OL's smaller, quicker build is apparently the vision CKD has for fixing it!

 

[78Alum]

Man, that one hurt. We were so man-handled. Thank you, Jess, for seeing some positives out of that game and going forward. We shall see... Roll Tide, always!

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I think he is avoiding seeing this game through the embarrassment that kind of score/dominance usually brings.

We are sore losers (not you but as a fan base, because we don't lose enough to get good at it...and we don't want to get good at it!!!) but when we lose, we have got to stop with the tendency to burn it all down.

Jess mainly focused on the OL and DL. But the defense was plenty good to win a championship this year. The OL is where the BIG CHANGES have to start and JessN even alludes to how IU's OL's smaller, quicker build is apparently the vision CKD has for fixing it!

Thr cracks go further than smaller linemen that fit a scheme, imo. We were blown out three times in one season and offensively are as soft as a pillow. Its an attitude, a mindset we're missing that Indiana and their team full of three star players fully embodied. More talent isn't going to fix the problems we have. A change of mindset will.

Cignetti and his staff took a much lessor talented team and turned them into a juggernaut that dominated us, the team with four and five stars everywhere. And before anyone starts pointing at "its only year two", it was only year two for Cignetti. Its coaching, its been coaching from the get go, not talent or certain type of talent. This head coach and staff have done less with more for two straight years. We play directly in line with the personality of our head coach, which from the outside looking in seems to be too laid back, ok with just "good" , too much of a players coach, and doesn't demand excellence from top to bottom. Until proven otherwise, we have a regime that has an obvious ceiling and championships arent in the equation. But a lot of inconsistent play and results are.

 

[davefrat]

This is the worst beating we've taken in decades and very well may be the worst loss (in terms of performance and what was at stake) be it regular or post-season in the modern era.

We looked totally unprepared, got out played, out coached, out physicalled, out everythinged.

We went 2-3 over our last 5 games against major opponents and got blown out in 2 of the last 3 games.

This is the kind of loss that makes you question the very foundations of the program.

 

[BamaMoon]

Thr cracks go further than smaller linemen that fit a scheme, imo. We were blown out three times in one season and offensively are as soft as a pillow. Its an attitude, a mindset we're missing that Indiana and their team full of three star players fully embodied. More talent isn't going to fix the problems we have. A change of mindset will.

Cignetti and his staff took a much lessor talented team and turned them into a juggernaut that dominated us, the team with four and five stars everywhere. And before anyone starts pointing at "its only year two", it was only year two for Cignetti. Its coaching, its been coaching from the get go, not talent or certain type of talent. This head coach and staff have done less with more for two straight years. We play directly in line with the personality of our head coach, which from the outside looking in seems to be too laid back, ok with just "good" , too much of a players coach, and doesn't demand excellence from top to bottom. Until proven otherwise, we have a regime that has an obvious ceiling and championships arent in the equation. But a lot of inconsistent play and results are.

I don't disagree. But the lack of OL development and consistent play leads to that "softness." In the trenches, especially on offense, is where you enforce your will. We haven't done that in a few years now...all the way back to CNS.

But until we get that fixed, we won't see certainty, precision and toughness.

You coach baseball, right? But it applies to any sport, if you are uncertain and not firing out of your position with instinct and confidence, you are going to look slow and inferior. I think that is exactly where the OL and RB position groups are at. And if that's how a team shows grit and toughness, that's what has to change.

 

[BamaMoon]

This is the worst beating we've taken in decades and very well may be the worst loss (in terms of performance and what was at stake) be it regular or post-season in the modern era.

We looked totally unprepared, got out played, out coached, out physicalled, out everythinged.

We went 2-3 over our last 5 games against major opponents and got blown out in 2 of the last 3 games.

This is the kind of loss that makes you question the very foundations of the program.

I agree...but the very foundation of a team and enforcing your will starts with the OL/running game.

I don't think we, as fans, fully comprehend how much this ONE THING is defining our outlook on the future.

IMO, CKD has one job to do this week: Fire the OL coach and start all over by getting 4 or 5 OL out of the portal. If IU can do that (and that's the foundation of their team) why can't Bama???

 

[92tide]

thanks for the write up @JessN

i hope y'all had a nice trip to pasadena (aside from the loss)

 

[denver]

Games are won in the trenches...that is why the teams moving on to the semi's are there. They have good OL/DL...those are a must. Cignetti just out Alabama'd Alabama because Deboer wants to out scheme teams not out physical teams. The lines set the tone...win those and you can do all the fancy things on offense you want...but lose them and you become a one trick pony leading to heavy losses.

 

[Bama93MS]

Indiana wrap-up: The defeat was in the details​

by Jess Nicholas, TideFans.com Editor-In-Chief
January 1, 2026

The closest analog to Indiana, among the SEC teams Alabama had faced in 2025, was the Oklahoma Sooners – if Oklahoma had an elite running game and a quarterback not prone to making two or three really bad decisions per game.

“If” is such a small word, but when "if" becomes "when," the landscape changes.

CONTINUE READING​

TideFans.com | By the Fans, For the Fans. - Indiana wrap-up: The defeat was in the details

The closest analog to Indiana, among the SEC teams Alabama had faced in 2025, was the Oklahoma Sooners – if Oklahoma had an elite running game and a quarterback not prone to making two or three rea…

news.tidefans.com

The complete lack of emotion of CKD on the sideline is astounding. He looks like a deer in headlights. Have you ever seen him get in any one’s face? I hope he can get this fixed but when you are dominated on both sides of the line and have no running game, I’m not very confident in his or his coordinators ability to accomplish this. Hope I am wrong.
Roll Tide Roll

 

[DrollTide]

I guess I won't be watching the replay.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I don't disagree. But the lack of OL development and consistent play leads to that "softness." In the trenches, especially on offense, is where you enforce your will. We haven't done that in a few years now...all the way back to CNS.

But until we get that fixed, we won't see certainty, precision and toughness.

You coach baseball, right? But it applies to any sport, if are uncertain and not firing out of your position with instinct and confidence, you are going to look slow and inferior. I think that is exactly where the OL and RB position groups are at. And if that's how a team shows grit and toughness, that's what has to change.

The mind makes the body go. I can take a kid with three star baseball talent, set in him a grind it, tough, never give up attitude and run circles around a 4 or 5 star baseball talent that doesn't have that same mindset set. Thats what Cignetti has done. Hes taken three star talent, getting them to have an eat nails mentality and theyre punching two classes above their weight class a d embarrassing teams like us trying to play on talent alone. The mind is very powerful and sets the body in motion. We have a coaching problem that begins at the top. I fully believe he deserves a chance to fix it, grow as a coach and all of that. But it shouldn't be but one to two more years max and if he hasnt, cut him loose.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

The mind makes the body go. I can take a kid with three star baseball talent, set in him a grind it, tough, never give up attitude and run circles around a 4 or 5 star baseball talent that doesn't have that same mindset set. Thats what Cignetti has done. Hes taken three star talent, getting them to have an eat nails mentality and theyre punching two classes above their weight class a d embarrassing teams like us trying to play on talent alone. The mind is very powerful and sets the body in motion. We have a coaching problem that begins at the top. I fully believe he deserves a chance to fix it, grow as a coach and all of that. But it shouldn't be but one to two more years max and if he hasnt, cut him loose.

I’ve seen enough but also understand we’re financially stuck for at least another year.

There’s at least 5 HCs I’d take right now if we could get a divorce and get one of them.

This Baby Butt Soft style of coaching and consistent levels of unpreparedness is just flat unacceptable.

 

[DrollTide]

The mind makes the body go. I can take a kid with three star baseball talent, set in him a grind it, tough, never give up attitude and run circles around a 4 or 5 star baseball talent that doesn't have that same mindset set. Thats what Cignetti has done. Hes taken three star talent, getting them to have an eat nails mentality and theyre punching two classes above their weight class a d embarrassing teams like us trying to play on talent alone. The mind is very powerful and sets the body in motion. We have a coaching problem that begins at the top. I fully believe he deserves a chance to fix it, grow as a coach and all of that. But it shouldn't be but one to two more years max and if he hasnt, cut him loose.

Kublic just mentioned that the Indiana TE that was so effective is ranked - wait for it - number 51 in the ranking of TEs. He said this is typical of Indiana players, a bunch of 3 stars who just really really want it.

I completely agree that is mindset, and Alabama doesnt have it right now.