Alabama football's quarterback, Ty Simpson, and the Crimson Tide were fully aware of the negative narratives that filled the airways ahead of their opening round victory over Oklahoma in the 2025 College Football Playoff last Friday.
For Simpson and the Tide, this cloud of adversity comes after many around college football circles argued that Alabama did not deserve to participate in the postseason following their 28-7 debacle in the SEC Championship game against Georgia.
Some even considered 'Bama to be the walking dead when they were slated to rematch against the Sooners, who had previously gone into Tuscaloosa and beaten them in their own backyard just weeks before.
Ty Simpson and Alabama are embracing the underdog role
This pushback saw several members in the national media pile on the Tide and kick them while they were down, and for the most part, prematurely casting them off before even taking the field in Norman. Turns out, this bulletin board material was just what Simpson and Alabama needed for fuel to shun Sooners fans into the offseason.
The Crimson Tide's signal caller let this be known when joining NFL vets Will Compton & Taylor Lewan on the Bussin' with the Bussin' With The Boys podcast.
"We knew what was on the line, we knew the energy going into the game about the script of Alabama, and how everybody, like I said, wrote us off," Simpson said.
This fire lit under the Tide helped the redshirt junior quarterback successfully engineer Alabama to a 34-24 victory over the Sooners with two touchdown passes and 232 yards through the air.
Simpson and the Crimson Tide now find themselves in this same position yet again, looking to keep their fuses lit as seven-point underdogs in the quarterfinals to the No.1 1-ranked 1-seeded Indiana Hoosiers at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on New Year's Day.