Alabama kept its winning streak alive after beating Missouri. But this one won’t make Ty Simpson’s highlight reel, and the QB admitted it himself. According to Simpson, he didn’t sparkle, and neither did the offense. Obviously, they took down a tough Missouri squad in what many called a “trap game,” but Bama kept letting golden chances slip away. In a post game conversation, the young QB appeared to channel his old coach, Nick Saban.

After edging out the Tigers 27-24, Ty Simpson was looking at his own stat sheet with some reporters on the field. He flipped through it, eyes scanning the numbers like a coach studying film. And when a reporter asked what he was looking at, Simpson didn’t sugarcoat it. “Too many sacks,” he said. “Didn’t throw it great. Bad yards per play. Held the ball too long. Not clean.” The truly great players are never just satisfied with a win. By dissecting his plays and looking at the mistakes first rather than sitting on his laurels, Simpson was reminding a lot of Bama fans of their old GOAT coach.

Alabama Football posted this answer of Simpson on IG with a caption, “He sounds exactly like Nick Saban.” It’s well known that Saban built his reputation by obsessing over details. This attention to fixing errors helped fuel a 17-year dynasty which led to 97 NFL draft picks from his era. And now, Simpson seems to be walking the same path, studying every play, and making excellence the standard. But this is not the first time Simpson has shown a move straight out of Saban’s playbook.

Before Alabama took down Georgia, Simpson fired up his team. “Alright. Us versus them. But guess what? This game ain’t about that! This game is about us. Alright. Only us. It’s not about what they do. Alright. It’s about what we do,” he said. While it showcased Simpson’s leadership, BarstoolSports’ Shaun McDonald spotted it immediately but with a different perspective. “He’s got Saban ingrained in him, sounds just like him,” wrote McDonald. Even Chip Patterson had fun with it, quipping, “6-foot-2 Nick Saban might win the Heisman Trophy.”

In the win over Missouri, Simpson threw 23 of 31 for 200 yards. And he also racked up 3 TDs without throwing a single interception. But what stood out? With just over 3 minutes left, Simpson put the game out of reach with a 1-yard TD to Daniel Hill, sealing a 27-17 lead. Although the second half of that game opened with a scare for Bama. Leading 17-10 at the break, Simpson took the snap and was immediately sacked, leading to a fumble. Then Missouri pounced on the opportunity, turning the turnover into a quick score to tie the game. But in the end, Bama won, though those mistakes could have been avoided. That’s why Simpson took the blame on himself, just like a true leader.

Ty Simpson’s thoughts after the win

Ty Simpson was blunt in his comments after the win. “I thought we did a good job in the first half, but a terrible job in the second half,” stated the star QB. “I told the guys in there, I said, ‘We’ve got to be better, and it starts with me.’ I can’t come out in the second half and fumble it first play, and they score. That game should have been put away a long time ago, and that’s disappointing on my part. We’re such a good offense, but we’ve got to be better in the second half. We had a lot of things going in the first, and we’ve just got to put it away.” But Simpson showed his potential in that game, so this wasn’t all on him.

Alabama’s offense ran into trouble beyond just the QB. OC Ryan Grubb’s play-calling sometimes put the team in tight spots. And the O-line, after several strong weeks, couldn’t hold up under pressure. Moreover, the clearly limited Ryan Williams was barely in the mix. While it showed that the team’s success isn’t on Simpson alone, the window of time is short for improvement.

After 3 tough battles against ranked teams, Bama heads into another big test next week at home against the Vols. Now, the talent is there for an elite offense, but Saturday was a reminder of how quickly errors can add up. So if they don’t tighten up, an impending loss could be around the corner.