Ty Simpson’s regression may have just cost the Alabama Crimson Tide a lot more than the SEC Championship

Ty Simpson had his worst performance at the absolute worst time for Alabama.

Josh Taylor, Rob Gregson
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The Alabama Crimson Tide had one goal this weekend: win the SEC Championship and erase any doubt for the right to a spot in the College Football Playoff.

It ended up doing the exact opposite, leading to a shocking result for Alabama. Last time Alabama played Georgia, the team came out fast and caught Georgia on its heels, and quarterback Ty Simpson made the big plays to get a win in Athens.

We expected another hard-fought battle in the SEC Championship, but instead, we saw Simpson’s regression continue at the worst time, with a loss and possibly more to come.

Ty Simpson likely cost Alabama a trip to the College Football Playoff

“The fall of Simpson is something that we have never seen before at Alabama. Sure, Nick Saban replaced Jalen Hurts with Tua Tagovailoa to win a national championship, but that was an acute response to not being able to pass.

“Simpson’s fall from Heisman contender to averaging less than four yards a pass completion came over a period of weeks. Slowly, his confidence and poise turned to hesitation, and he saw ghosts. He’s pinpoint accuracy turned scattershot. He went from dealing over the middle of the field to struggling to complete a check-down.” – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports Alabama

“Not all of that was his fault. Alabama’s offense could never find its footing in the ground game. The loss of Jam Miller was the nail in the coffin against Georgia. The separation from his pass catchers left a lot to be desired as well, and the move of Ryan Grubb from the booth to the field looked like it only made things worse.

That regression may have cost Alabama its season. There was only one way the team could miss the playoffs, barring injury: a blowout in the SEC Championship. Perhaps the committee feels pity for Alabama, given its position at the back of the field, but ask yourself this: even if Alabama made it to the playoff, would the version we saw on Saturday really have a chance to compete? I think we all know the answer to that.” – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports Alabama

Alabama’s lack of a run game killed the offense

Simpson was bad, but it doesn’t help when you can’t run the ball at all. Without Miller and Kevin Riley, Alabama had no threat to Georgia’s defense to run the ball. That led to Kirby Smart being aggressive in stopping Alabama’s passing game with different looks and blitzes in the secondary.

Alabama’s running backs had only 21 yards on the ground and -3 rushing yards as a team, which is a disaster against this Georgia defense. The run game was supposed to help out Simpson, who has struggled over the last few weeks, but instead, it made his job harder.

Now, we wait and see how much the College Football Playoff selection committee punishes Alabama, after already being critical of its offensive struggles this season. Alabama at least came back to score and not get shut out, so that may have kept its hopes alive.

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