How Has Simpson Grown Since UGA Game in September?

Two and a half months ago, the Alabama Crimson Tide traveled to Athens, Georgia, for the toughest test of the Crimson Tide's young season so far: a road contest against the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia was fresh off an overtime victory against the Tennessee Volunteers two weeks prior, while Alabama was still searching for the defining moment to change the narrative around the Crimson Tide after the devastating week one loss to Florida State. The Crimson Tide passed its first test of conference play that night in Athens, with a 24-21 victory over Georgia.

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Now, as the calendar flips to December, the Crimson Tide's final exam of the SEC schedule will come in Atlanta, with the SEC Championship to be played against Georgia. It's the seventh time since the turn of the 2020s that the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs will face off, and the fourth time Alabama will face Georgia in the SEC Championship since Kirby Smart departed Tuscaloosa for his alma mater. Many a Crimson Tide quarterback has claimed victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship, including AJ McCarron, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts (Tagovailoa started the 2018 SEC Championship, but Hurts finished the game), Bryce Young, and Jalen Milroe. Now, Ty Simpson has the chance to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and punch Alabama's ticket to the College Football Playoff if he can lead his team to a victory on Saturday.

Both teams feel different than they did in September, with Georgia peaking at the right time, undefeated since Alabama snapped the Bulldogs' 33-game home win streak, while Alabama has sputtered down the stretch offensively, with turnovers, a lacking rushing attack, and injuries slowing down what was expected to be a potent passing attack for the Crimson Tide.

Despite the struggles on offense, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has seen substantial growth from quarterback Ty Simpson since the first matchup between Alabama and Georgia in September, a game Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said 'feels like ages ago.'

"We've been in a lot of situations that are high-pressure. He's come through," DeBoer said during Sunday's teleconference. "It might be the third downs, which that game, I think, was a really good example of kind of where it started. The Georgia game there. He kept us on the field, made some throws. I think he's just continued to do it over and over again.

Ty Simpson again delivered when Alabama needed it in Saturday's 27-20 victory in the Iron Bowl, drawing two crucial penalties that kept the game-winning drive alive before completing a six-yard touchdown to Isaiah Horton on fourth-and-two for the go-ahead score.

"If you just do it once in a while, I don't know how much real deep confidence and belief you have, that your teammates have. He's done it over and over. Game-winning drives, ways of staying on the field to seal victories. Starting fast in games. He understands the importance of that. Just staying the course.

"I think if you really narrowed it down, he's gotten better, I think, especially last night showed, at handling adversity. Early on, missing some throws, but finding a way to make those big touchdown passes. Control the environment, embrace the environment. It's loud there. He had to make some checks. He stood right in there and did everything he could, everything that we expected him to do and needed him to do."

Alabama will face Georgia in the SEC Championship on Saturday, December 6, at 4:00 ET.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.