Bama Game Thread: Official PostGame Thread - Bama vs. IU...

[rtr90]

Pat Coogan was a
three-star recruit out of high school in the 2021 class

 

[Toddrn]

So for those that want to keep CKD, how long do we give him to get his players and system going? I understand we don't want to fire someone that has only been here two years. But when it seems all he does is talk around problems, stand on the sidelines looking like he's having a hemorrhoid flare up, with that look on his face, and NEVER make adjustments, what then? Any coach worth his salt should be screaming at everyone after a performance like this. Telling anyone that will listen, this is unacceptable and I'm going to do everything in my power to fix it no matter what it takes.

 

[BamaNation]

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Passing Yards	Rushing Yards	Total Yards
1	Aug 30	at Florida State	L 17-31	254​	87	341
2	Sep 6	Louisiana-Monroe	W 73-0	371​	212	583
3	Sep 13	Wisconsin	W 38-14	382​	72	454
4	Sep 27	at Georgia	W 24-21	280​	117	397
5	Oct 4	Vanderbilt	W 30-14	340​	146	486
6	Oct 11	at Missouri	W 27-24	200​	125	325
7	Oct 18	Tennessee	W 37-20	253​	120	373
8	Oct 25	at South Carolina	W 29-22	253​	72	325
9	Nov 8	LSU	W 20-9	288​	56	344
10	Nov 15	Oklahoma	L 21-23	326​	80	406
11	Nov 22	Eastern Illinois	W 56-0	270​	269	539
12	Nov 29	at Auburn	W 27-20	122​	158	280
13	Dec 6	vs Georgia (SEC Champ)	L 7-28	212​	-3	209
14	Dec 19	at Oklahoma (CFP 1st Rd)	W 34-24	232​	28	260
15	Jan 1	vs Indiana (CFP 2nd Rd)	L 38-3	173​	20	193​

 

[Tide&True]

That’s going to leave a mark.

 

[bamajas]

How bad could it have gotten today had IU actually played somebody this season?

 

[crimsonaudio]

A lot of teams could have beaten Alabama today, looking weaker, slower, and softer than quite a few teams this year doesn’t have me feeling all warm and fuzzy moving forward

I disagree. Bama was made to look weaker, slower, etc due to Indiana's superior discipline and execution.

They've done this all year. I assumes Bama would show up and play well enough for the Jimmys and Joes to make the difference, but I was wrong.

They simply out-executed Bama. They've done this all year.

 

[denver]

Lots to fix....but I dont think Deboer will make the hard decisions necessary. I also don't think his preferred type of football is a going to be successful long term. We don't play with the physical edge that we should on either side of the ball. Multiple seasons of 9-3 etc is what I expect...CFB has changed so teams like UI and Ttech can rise up every year. Money talks. Winning requires a culture, accountability and unity.. i don't know what identity Bama has under Deboer

 

[bamaga]

Indiana just proved that discipline and execution beat 'talent' every time.

If Bama had been able / allowed to play to potential the score likely would have been the opposite.

But Indiana, despite having lesser talent across the board, out-performed and out-executed Bama all night long.

Kudos to the Hoosiers for an excellently executed game plan.

Yes, but Bigger Faster discplined and executing athletes beat slower, smaller disciplined athletes every time.

 

[BamaNation]

This info is from the interwebs. I haven't verified but ran a few searches and seems consistent with the records available.

Since the early part of the Bear Bryant era in 1958 (effectively covering 1957 onward), Alabama has previously been held to under 200 total offensive yards in a game on only two occasions, both notable low points in otherwise dominant stretches of program history.

Date	Opponent	Result	Total Yards	Notes
December 28, 1968	Missouri (Gator Bowl)	L 10-35	23	Program record for fewest total yards in a game; included -45 rushing yards
September 6, 2008	Tulane	W 20-6	172	Most recent occurrence before 1/1/2026; Alabama relied heavily on defense and special teams (including an 87-yard punt return TD) to win despite the offensive struggle.

No games since 2008—including through the entire Nick Saban era (2007-2023), the 2024-2025 seasons under Kalen DeBoer, or the 2025 season (where the previous lowest was 209 yards in the SEC Championship loss to Georgia)—have seen Alabama finish with under 200 total offensive yards.

Until today.

 

[gtgilbert]

Saban had a saying that I can't use here about making the other team quit. IU just did that to us. They literally made our .... quit. Guys didn't look like they wanted to be there. That's just not acceptable and should cause a lot of questions about our coaching staff and their 'ability' to prepare the team to play to win.

 

[81usaf92]

I had a lot of time to think about this, because this was a dreadful game to watch.

I don't want to hear anymore about "fits" to DeBoer's system and instead I want to hear about fixes. The problem is not that Alabama isn't finesse enough. Alabama was thoroughly manhandled by a team that has demonstrably smaller, lower ranked players and a coaching staff that makes about half as much money. Cignetti hasn't had more time to develop this team, he has had far less resources. One team was just far better coached than the other.

I'm not saying DeBoer is a bad coach though, I think the problem is he developed a flawed philosphy (I don't think the issues are all just Milroe, or Grubb, or the favorite wipping boy of the day). I think his formative period at the FBS was his time at Indiana. That Indiana team was 8-5, DeBoer was the OC and Wommack was the DC and they showed real improvement over the previous year (5-7). He beat power conference teams with a bunch of 3 stars. He doesn't' try to physically dominate, he doesn't try to be the tougher team, he tries to outsmart the other team. He doesn't try to have a balanced offense, he lets a few play-makers on offense influence the game that's run through the QB. Their passing yards went up, their running yards went down (rushing average dropped by .7, a common theme with DeBoer) and it seemed to work.

This allowed him to overcome the 3 star liability. He's outsmarted a lot of good coaches, and he's won quite a few games he shouldn't have. Cignetti's formative FBS years were at Alabama under Saban, and what he seems to have done is demand his teams play like they're Alabama, play like they're 5 stars, even if they are just 3 stars. He doesn't draw up things as though they are 3 stars trying to overcome deficiencies, he just demands they play like 5 stars. He has a high standard and he holds them to it. They are a demonstrably smaller, weaker team that play demonstrably stronger and tougher.

DeBoer is neglecting Alabama's talent and ability to recruit by trying to overcome a weakness that he's played a part in creating. They don't need to play cute, they're big, they're physically strong. They don't need to rely on the QB entirely (at every stop he's let the run game degrade while relying heavily on the QB), they have the resources to have a good ground game. He needs to adapt to that instead of trying to overcome it, stop trying to outsmart everyone and start punching other teams in the mouth.

This is the second time on a big stage that DeBoer's team (Washington vs. Michigan) was thoroughly physically dominated, and this time it was against a team that had no business being a team that plays tougher football. He's a smart coach, but he is basically outsmarting himself at this point. He has big guys playing soft and Cignetti has small guys playing hard.

This might sound like a tale of woe though, but it's not. If DeBoer can just make the necessary changes to his system and approach that leverages the strength and power of the type of athletes Alabama can attract, this team can go from being occasionally great to consistently great.

/rant

DeBoer also spanked Sarkisian in 23 who spanked us at home physically. So if you want to bring up the Michigan game let’s be fair and not cherry pick.

Also DeBoer lost 40 players to the portal before coaching a down at Alabama so let’s stop acting like Saban left a wealth of talent and experience.

DeBoer does NEED to develop a physical line on both sides of the ball and needs depth. But we haven’t had one since 2020. We have totally whiffed on them in both Saban and DeBoer’s years since 2020. Bryce covered up the deficiencies for two years and Milroe was our running game two years running. Our offensive line deficiencies are nothing new. They are just far more obvious.


How do we fix it… A new OLine coach is probably a start. Also instead of spending on receivers and backs we probably need to focus on 3 good DL and 2-3 good o linemen in the portal. Also someone needs to get Grubb under control because he has yet to call a truly stellar game offensively.

IDK but again I’m reminded that the team that just big boyed us was big boyed last year by Ohio State and Notre Dame. So a fix isn’t out of the realm of possibilities.

 

[crimsonaudio]

I couldn’t care less about conference affiliation. Good football is good football. I respect that. IU has all the tools to win it.

Agreed. If Indiana wins by this level of precision, discipline, and execution, who wouldn't be pleased in a world of NIL and Xfer portals?

These Hoosiers - for as long as greed can be repelled - are what CFB is supposed to look like.

 

[Crimson Speed]

I hope most Bama fans realistically knew this team was not going to win a nationally championship this year. There were just too many holes in our team that never got fixed. First, teams cannot win championships without a sound ground game. We never had that, and it really got exposed today. As bad as things appear, I do believe we need to give Debore a chance to make the much needed changes. We certainly need to change some assistant coaches, and find a way to avoid the departure of our good players through the transfer portal. Whether we like it or not, the transfer portal will be a temptation for some.

 

[Power Eye]

There needs to be a discussion at least.
Im not sure how anyone can be confident in our coaching staff ever since USCe game.
Many questions this off season, and not alot of answers.

After this embarrassment, I completely understand the frustration, but we are a year or two away from having that conversation in earnest. I do think there needs to be some serious efforts in addressing the offensive line, and I don’t believe it’s a personnel issue. I believe it’s completely on coaching and scheme, and that’s scary because I think it’s a much more difficult fix.

 

[Special K]

Good season, bad finish.

Indiana is as good as advertised and our offensive line is bad as advertised. I hope Indiana wins it all and we use this as motivation for 2026.

With all due respect, it was most definitely NOT a good season. Maybe for Ole Miss or Auburn or Vandy, but not for Alabama. 3 utterly humiliating losses in one season and a quarterfinal CFP loss do not equal good in my book.

And scary thing it was very close to being much worse (SC, Mizzou, even Vandy could have been losses with just a couple breaks going the other way).

 

[bamaga]

I couldn’t care less about conference affiliation. Good football is good football. I respect that. IU has all the tools to win it.

No, and normally I wouldn’t care. But it is beyond those things now. The way the B1G is going, they will run college football, and that can’t be good for anyone.

 

[Bpilktree]

Need to find better staff and philosophy in the portal as well.

The last thing I want is the continued change of coaching staff year in and year out. I think that has been one of the biggest issues with Alabama football the last 6 years or so.. We have changed at least 1 to 3 coaches and coordinators. The constant revolving door of styles is not a good thing for teams.

 

[LA BamaCarl]

Hard to go into the off season after getting skull-drug and seeing so many areas that need revamping. I'm afraid it's a cultural thing more than anything. No reason for a team with the players we have looking this bad.

 

[CrimsonTheory]

I'm as big of a backer of Kalen as there is BUT I have reached my boiling point. To me, Kalen is now coaching for his job. This might be, is the worst I've felt about Bama.

 

[BamaInCummingGA]

Wasn't the outcome we wanted.
Got some soul searching and reassessment to do in the off season.
Got to get stronger, meaner and quicker on both lines of scrimmage. It has to start there.
We gotta commit to running the ball in a mean, physical manner.
Hopefully this is a wakeup call for the staff and players.
One thing I would like to be re-instituted is the players not talking to the media.
Just go about your business without all the jibber jabber.
And to anyone who says you can't tough coach anymore just look how Coach Cig and Coach Mario and others are doing it.