Ty Simpson reveals ‘message’ that helped Alabama football overcome Oklahoma

When Alabama went down 17-0 in the first quarter of the 2025-2026 College Football Playoffs, fans were ready to write the Crimson Tide off. However, instead of folding, quarterback Ty Simpson led an inspiring comeback to beat Oklahoma and advance in the postseason.

Alabama evidently never lost hope, which Simpson claimed has been the “message all season.” It was a simple message, but one that saved the team’s season.

“Keep going,” Simpson said, via ESPN. “That’s kind of been our message all season.”

Head coach Kalen DeBoer relayed a similar message, saying he simply implored his team to “keep fighting.” DeBoer said he believed Alabama has “too many good players” to let their season end on Friday night.

“We always talk about the game is going to come back to us,” DeBoer said, via ESPN. “We have too many good players. If you just keep fighting, you’re going to force them to make a mistake. Something’s going to happen. Just keep coming after them, play after play, and the game’s going to come back to you. That’s what happened tonight.”

Alabama certainly forced mistakes and won the turnover battle. The Crimson Tide blocked a punt and intercepted John Mateer, which quickly turned into a snowball rolling downhill.

The mistakes piled up after that, with Lou Groza Award-winning kicker Tate Sandell missing two field goals after missing just one throughout the entire regular season. An Alabama drive in the second half was also boosted by a senseless unnecessary roughness penalty on a punt return.

After the 17-0 first quarter, Alabama won the final three on a 34-7 run. The Tide’s defense completely flipped a switch in the second half, sacking Mateer five times. Both DeBoer and Simpson credited Kane Wommack’s defense for igniting the comeback.

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