Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer sounds off on ‘wrong decision’ in CFP loss to Indiana

Alabama took the field at the Rose Bowl as 7.5-point underdogs to Indiana in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game. The Hoosiers had delivered a brilliant 13-0 season heading into the game and they had beaten Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. The Crimson Tide came into the game with an 11-3 record and it seemed like head coach Kalen DeBoer’s team was lucky to gain a spot in the postseason.

Despite the differences in their two seasons, it seemed like a traditional college football powerhouse like Alabama would find a way to give upstart Indiana a major fight and possibly pull out a win. That did not happen.

Indiana was the dominant team in Pasadena, and quarterback Fernando Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a remarkable 38-3 victory. The turning point in the game may have come early in the second quarter with Indiana leading by a 3-0 margin. Alabama faced a 4th-and-1 situation from their own 34-yard line with slightly more than 2 minutes gone in the period. Instead of sending out his punter and pushing the Hoosiers deep in their own territory, DeBoer decided to have Alabama go for the first down.

DeBoer had running back Daniel Hill throw the ball to wideout Germie Bernard. The pass was caught, but Bernard was dragged down for no gain. Indiana was able to extend the lead on the ensuing possession to 10-0 when Mendoza threw 21-yard TD pass to wideout Charlie Becker.

DeBoer tried to explain his thought process on the failed gamble. “When you fall short, it’s the wrong decision,” DeBoer said, per Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News. “We give them a short field, they make a nice play on a third down. But there was a belief in both our offense and defense. We want to be aggressive, but not reckless.”

Alabama was unable to mount a legitimate challenge after that.

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