Kalen DeBoer

The regular season is over for Crimson Tide football. Tuscaloosa area businesses are looking at what these fans spent at local restaurants, shops, and hotels. The University of Alabama is still adjusting to the retirement of coach Nick Saban. APR news looked at how the dollars and cents are shaping for the football economy in the era of coach Kalen DeBoer…

Multiple published reports state that Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson intends to declare for the 2026 NFL draft. The University of Alabama junior just ended a problematic season with the Crimson Tide being shellacked in the Rose Bowl by number one ranked Indiana. The Hoosiers will play in the Peach Bowl Friday to see if the team can advance to the college football championship.

Number one ranked Indiana became the first team in the brief history of the 12-team College Football Playoff to win a game after receiving a first-round bye, smothering Alabama 38-3 in a quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Thursday. Fans of the Crimson Tide may be seeking solace with social media posts on how all of the coaches playing for the semi-finals, and the college football title, all worked as assistants for retired Alabama coach Nick Saban. That list doesn’t include the Tide’s Kalen DeBoer.

Alabama rallied from a 17-point deficit once in the College Football Playoff against Oklahoma, but there would not be a repeat performance against No. 1 Indiana in a quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide tried everything possible to stage a historic comeback on the site of so many memorable moments for the program.

Sportswriters have no end of Rose Bowl story lines as the Crimson Tide prepares to face Indiana (for the first time ever—one more angle.) Observers didn’t know that when Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe was stopped on a fourth down in overtime by Michigan in 2023 that Nick Saban had coached his final game for Alabama.

Last weekend's first round of the College Football Playoff averaged 9.9 million viewers on ABC, ESPN, TNT, TBS and truTV, according to ESPN and Nielson. That is a 7% drop from last year. Alabama's win over Oklahoma was the exception.

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti believes his four seasons working with Nick Saban helped him learn how to prioritize organization, avoid complacency and maintain high standards. In fact, Cignetti thinks it's a primary reason he's preparing for his first Rose Bowl as a head coach. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer feels similarly about the one season he spent at Indiana.

Alabama and Indiana couldn't have more different football histories. This Indiana team couldn't be more unlike the program's painful past. Alabama will play No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 in a national quarterfinal matchup between a blue blood and the ultimate upstart. Alabama is one of the most successful programs in college football, with six national titles this century. Indiana has never won a New Year’s Six game and has no bowl victories since 1991.

The University of Alabama is the first team to advance in this year’s college football playoffs. Oklahoma was on its way to be the first team to beat Alabama twice in one season since Grover Cleveland was President. The Sooners led seventeen to nothing in the second quarter. That when the Tide came to life.

Alabama’s football season may come down to one game tonight. The Crimson Tide will play Oklahoma before a hometown crowd in Norman. The winner will face number one ranked Indiana in the Rose Bowl during the championship quarterfinals. The only playoff game tonight is considered a toss-up, and that’s generating interest among sports bettors in what looks like a lackluster post season for Las Vegas oddsmakers.