Three months have passed, and the embarrassment of Alabama's Rose Bowl performance hasn't washed away. Winning will be the only thing that can take care of that, and we're still five months away from the start of the 2026 season.
The 38-3 loss to eventual national champion Indiana put a damper on what had been a good - albeit far from great - season for Kalen DeBoer in year two with the Crimson Tide.
Vibes were high for Alabama heading into the Rose Bowl after a come-from-behind victory over Oklahoma in the opening round of the College Football Playoff. The Tide rallied from a 17-0 hole to pull out a victory that showed the team's mental resolve.
Less than two weeks later, Indiana beat Alabama worse than anyone has beaten Alabama in a long, long time, re-raising uncomfortable questions about the DeBoer era and if this thing was going to work or not.
And if that sting wasn't bad enough on its own, the occasional salt gets rubbed into it.
It happened again during Indiana's Pro Day, when star DE Mikail Kamara, who registered a sack of Austin Mack during the Rose Bowl, made a comment about the future of Hoosiers football:
"Hopefully we can turn this into Bama...old Bama," Kamara said, which drew laughs from the reporters in attendance.
Alabama doesn't have the same aura anymore, and that's up to Kalen DeBoer to change
Alabama is never going to be the Alabama it was during the Nick Saban era. Unfortunately for Kamara, neither will Indiana.
It's not possible to sustain that level of dominance in this new era of college football. It'll never be the same again.
But that doesn't mean that Alabama has to drop off as a college football power. All the resources remain for the Crimson Tide to be perennially one of the top teams in college football.
It's all fun and games right now because the rabbit's got the gun. Over a decade of sheer dominance is over and now teams are getting their "get back" on Alabama - and they are letting the Crimson Tide know about it in the process.
That isn't going to change by itself. Heading into year three, that task is firmly at the feet of DeBoer, and his ability to reestablish Alabama as a National Championship contender - quickly - will determine his long-term future in Tuscaloosa.