Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was benched in the second half against No. 1 Indiana in the No. 9 Crimson Tide’s 38-3 loss in the Rose Bowl on Thursday. Backup Crimson Tide quarterback Austin Mack entered the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in Simpson’s place with Alabama trailing 24-0 in the third quarter.
Simpson took a big hit in the first half while trying to extend for a first down and has been grimacing while throwing the ball. He tried to come back and play in the second half. The hit was on Simpson’s lower back and led to a fumble, which the Hoosiers converted into points.
However, Simpson has struggled to create explosive plays during a heavyweight battle with the Hoosiers. The junior completed 12-of-16 passes for 67 yards and added 17 yards on the ground, but was held without a score in his snaps.
“Ty had an injury, obviously, and he really wanted to try to go out there,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said after the game. “And we treated him there at halftime. He gave it a series.
“I know he feels like he let down the team, and there’s no way that that’s the case. He went out there, tried to battle. That’s who he is, so I’m never going to let that be a thing where he let us down in any way. So making sure he knows that.”
Mack came off the bench and played good snaps in relief of Simpson, including leading the Crimson Tide’s lone field goal drive. The California native completed 11-of-16 passes for 103 yards, but was also sacked multiple times in the loss. Mack’s three drives averaged nearly eight plays per drive compared to only five for Simpson’s drives.
Alabama scored only three points in their loss to the Hoosiers, failing to reach multiple scores for the second time in three games. The Crimson Tide finished the year losing three of their final six games, including losing three of four against ranked opponents.
After the win, No. 1 Indiana heads to face No. 5 Oregon at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The Hoosiers are the final remaining undefeated team in college football, and hope to become the first 16-0 team in major college history.
