The Alabama Crimson Tide may not strike as much fear in the hearts of their opponents as they did under legendary head coach Nick Saban, but quarterback Ty Simpson still feels that his team deserves respect.
It looks and feels a bit different under new head coach Kalen DeBoer. It used to be that even one loss was shocking for the Tide. They lost four in DeBoer’s first season and squeaked into the College Football Playoff with three losses this year.
The Tide got into the dance, and that’s half the battle, though. Who says they can’t get hot?
Simpson revealed on Tuesday that he and his teammates took recent criticism seriously ahead of their first-round CFP win over Oklahoma.
“We just had nothing to lose, you know what I mean. Of course, having the days off, that’s all everybody at ESPN talked about, just how Alabama didn’t look good in the SEC Championship, they’ve fallen off. … Just a whole bunch of talk that we didn’t really appreciate. … Just the narrative that Alabama isn’t who they (used to be), they don’t have (former head coach Nick) Saban, they don’t have the same juice, they don’t have the same squad like they used to. To me, honestly, it just kind of p—– me off,” Simpson said on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast on Tuesday (h/t On3). “Because why is everybody bringing up the past? I get that … everybody wanted to talk about (what’s not here), but nobody wants to talk about the 2025 team and what we’ve done. Everybody didn’t expect us to make the Playoff, and we made the Playoff, and then writing us off (after) the Oklahoma game. Alright, let’s do it man.”
Alabama Crimson Tide taking advantage of CFP opportunity
Simpson revealed that he was excited for the opportunity to play in the CFP, and the rest of his teammates clearly felt the same way. In fact, they had a players-only meeting before the Oklahoma game, and the quarterback gave a pep talk of sorts
“I just got up and was like, ‘Guys, I ain’t got anything to say, man, y’all know how I feel. I need this game back, y’all need this game back, we’ve got everything to prove, let’s go do it,'” Simpson explained.
Alabama lost in the regular season to Oklahoma, 23-21, in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide redeemed themselves in the first round with a 34-24 victory in Norman, and now their reward is a Rose Bowl game against No. 1 Indiana on Jan. 1. Alabama comes into that game sporting a No. 9 ranking.
So yes, it feels a bit different at Alabama without Saban around, but perfection is no longer needed in this era of college football with a 12-team playoff.
The standard is still the standard at Alabama, but what you do early in September no longer means as much as it used to. It’s about winning big games in November and December and getting hot. In that way, it’s much like the NFL.
Ultimately, that’s why you can’t count a team like Alabama out. If they get hot, the Tide can absolutely put another championship up on the board.