TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Ty Simpson’s first start as Alabama’s quarterback was a high-profile road game for the Crimson Tide, and it became a disappointing defeat that had some outside observers questioning the state of the program under second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer.
The redshirt junior’s four starts since then are a quartet of victories that have left no questions about his ability to display the resilience needed to steer the offense of one of college football’s storied powers in the bid for more Southeastern Conference titles and national championships.
Simpson threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns while leading No. 10 Alabama to a 30-14 victory over No. 16 Vanderbilt on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, an SEC matchup in which both programs were ranked in the AP poll for their meeting for the first time since 1937.
Simpson overcame an early interception — his first of the season — while completing 23 of 30 passes, finding Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams for touchdowns, and Jam Miller ran for 136 yards and a touchdown for the Tide (4-1, 2-0).
“I thought we played hard-nosed,” said DeBoer, whose team was coming off a 24-21 win at Georgia that ended a streak of 33 straight home wins for the Bulldogs. “The momentum we’re continuing to gain, there’s a confidence between offense and defense that the other side will come through when it matters most.”
Simpson was hardly the overwhelming fault in Alabama’s 31-17 loss at Florida State on Aug. 30, when the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Seminoles were unranked and the Tide were No. 8, completing 23 of 43 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns while being sacked three times that day in Tallahassee. Still, his play has been better in all the games since, and he didn’t let being sacked four times Saturday lead to any serious trouble.
Diego Pavia threw for 183 yards and ran for 58 for Vanderbilt (5-1, 1-1), but he also threw an interception and lost a fumble. Sedrick Alexander had a 65-yard touchdown run for the Commodores, who never trailed while pulling off a stunning 40-35 upset a year ago in Nashville by taking down a top-ranked Tide team.
The second half didn’t leave Vanderbilt much time to ponder what back-to-back knockouts would feel like.
The Commodores had leads of 7-0 in the first quarter and 14-7 in the second quarter this time around, but Alabama pulled even in the final minute before the break on Bernard’s 27-yard touchdown catch, then went ahead for good early in the third quarter on the first of three field goals in the game by Conor Talty after he missed a 47-yard attempt in the first quarter.
Alabama converted all four of its trips into the red zone into points, and Pavia’s two turnovers left Vanderbilt without points in two critical situations. Vanderbilt’s running game that totaled 126 yards on 12.7 yards per carry in the first half was limited to just 9 yards in the second half, and the Commodores lacked a downfield threat in the passing game.
“We knew coming in this would be a game won on third down and the red zone,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “Those are two areas we weren’t very good at, particularly on offense. Offensively we never seemed to get rhythm, particularly in the second half, and that allowed them to take time of possession.”
Alabama’s win certainly wasn’t perfect, but Simpson remains among the top of the SEC in terms of quarterback play with another game above a 75% completion rate, his third such performance in the past four opportunities. Defensively, two turnovers forced in the red zone were game-altering plays.
“Understanding what happened week one, there’s two things you can do,” DeBoer said. “You can take it, or you can fight back. If we are who we are and believe we have a good football team, then there’s one option, and that’s to give it everything we’ve got. And that’s what these guys are doing.”
Alabama travels to Missouri next Saturday, while Vanderbilt is off next week before hosting LSU on Oct. 18.