Ty Simpson has emerged as the Heisman contender. Nobody remembers Alabama’s loss against Florida State anymore. Even in that game, Simpson was hardly an issue. The QB has accumulated 1,478 passing yards at 70.3% efficiency. Bama is 4-1, having already defeated Georgia and Vanderbilt. Where does their QB1 stand when it comes to the top QBs in college football? Much to the surprise of Tide faithful, their former head coach picked some other names over their leader.

Nick Saban appeared on ESPN’s College GameDay before the Oregon and Indiana game and touted Oklahoma’s John Mateer as his top pick. “I think potentially, John Mateer at Oklahoma has been injured—if he’s healthy, he has the opportunity maybe to be that.” As for other QBs in his top-4 list, Saban picked Dante Moore, Fernando Mendoza, and even singled out Julian Sayin. His reasons are clear, though.

“I think these two quarterbacks playing here today — Dante Moore and Fernando Mendoza both have the opportunity to be the No. 1 quarterback. But nobody has done what Ohio State’s quarterback Julian Sayin is — completing 80% of his passes. Nobody else has done that.”

When asked about his own guy, Ty Simpson, who, too, has been impressive so far. Saban, without including him in his list, showed praise for the Bama QB. “He’s my guy. We recruited him to Alabama, and I love the guy,” replied Nick Saban.

The names that Nick Saban has mentioned without a doubt deserve a spot in his top 4. Fernando Mendoza, for instance, is exceptional so far, passing for 1,208 yards at a 73% efficiency. His performances then are a major reason why Indiana is 5-0 so far. As for Dante Moore, he is already being graded as a top-5 pick in the draft, showcasing NFL-caliber talent. He has accumulated 1,210 passing yards so far at 74.6% efficiency and has taken Oregon to a 5-0 record, too. Now, when it comes to Julian Sayin, the Buckeyes are thriving under him.

Sayin has passed for 1,313 yards at a stellar 80.2% efficiency, which speaks for his talent alone. Not just that, his 78.6% efficiency at an intimidating Husky Stadium for 208 yards showed how much the guy has developed. Right from pocket presence to throwing those accurate deep balls, Sayin never faltered even against ranked opponents like Texas. That doesn’t, however, mean that Ty Simpson hasn’t dominated.

Does Ty Simpson deserve to be in Nick Saban’s top 4?

Ty Simpson’s performance against Florida State initially came under scrutiny. It was the first game of the season, and he had just 53.5% efficiency, resulting in a 17-31 loss. However, after FSU, Simpson showed why he was a five-star recruit and why Nick Saban recruited him.

In the next game, the Alabama QB1 turned up the tempo and had 100% efficiency, passing for 226 yards. Even against Georgia, in Athens, Simpson didn’t find it hard to connect those passes and even had one rushing touchdown. But why then did Nick Saban exclude him from his list?

It probably just came down to slightly superior stats for the QBs compared to Ty Simpson. And the major reason for it is still the FSU game. However, Simpson has vowed to continue to improve, and he may finally make Saban’s list. “Me personally, I feel like I didn’t play very well,” said Simpson after the FSU game, declaring to improve. And so far, those improvements are showing.

Alabama will now face a 5-0 Missouri team on the road and is the favorite to win the game. But the Tigers can’t be underestimated. They come after defeating South Carolina and have the winning momentum, not to mention the home advantage. Their QB, Beau Pribula, is exceptional so far, completing 75.9% of his passes for 1,203 yards. Along with that, he also has 121 yards on the ground for three touchdowns. All things considered, Alabama and Ty Simpson might be the favorite, but don’t write off an upset in Columbia just yet.