Happy Thursday, everyone. Vandy QB Diego Pavia made some waves yesterday, predicting that Saturday’s game “won’t be close” if unbeaten Vandy executes on offense.
The Vanderbilt quarterback is at it again. As he looks to stay undefeated against SEC teams in the state of Alabama, he issued a bold prediction to On3.
“I don’t know what they’re doing,” Pavia said. “I just focus on us, but I know we’ve got to bring it. That’s for sure. The crowd, I think, is going to be a big factor in the game. But we just gotta
play within the white lines. If we do that, if we play our game, it won’t be close.”
Thomas Castellanos made bold statements leading up to the season opener, and we all know what happened in that game. Alabama’s defense still has plenty of question marks, so we’ll see how they respond.
Kalen DeBoer had his weekly radio show last night. Some interesting notes were his attempt to build up Ryan Williams and affinity for the Alabama coast.
— DeBoer on Ryan Williams bouncing back from the early dropped pass vs. Georgia: “He kept his head up. He kept plugging away. He wants that as much as anyone. He didn’t miss it on purpose. His attitude and energy coming back to practice … has been awesome to see.”
— A person named Joe asks the wildest place DeBoer recruited a player from. DeBoer said he recruited guys from Hawaii before. .. DeBoer said he’s had his car broken into at least once while recruiting.
— Russ calls from Alaska. He asks what has been the biggest change culturally moving to Alabama from Washington and South Dakota as well as what has been a blessing. “Everyone talks about the heat.” DeBoer also mentioned how much he has also enjoyed the southern part of the state. “It’s really beautiful down there.”
Ty Simpson has been getting it done.
Simpson is the first Alabama first-year quarterback without an interception in his first four games since Tua Tagovailoa in 2018. No other Crimson Tide first-year starter since 2009 can say the same.
Simpson and Tagovailoa’s numbers are extremely similar. Tagovailoa’s completion rate is percentage points better than Simpson along with one more total touchdown. Simpson has 59 more yards passing than Tagovailoa through four games.But Simpson’s first four games puts him right up there with recent Alabama greats.
To be fair to Tua, he put up those numbers while still learning to speak English. Still, what Ty has done the past three games is quite remarkable.
As expected, the rat poison is flowing.
In the Week 1 loss to Florida State, it looked like Ty Simpson knew what he was supposed to be doing and where he was supposed to be with the football; he just didn’t make enough plays. In the 3 games Alabama has played since, Simpson has been the best quarterback in football. Against FSU, Simpson completed 23 of his 43 passes (53.5%) for 254 yards and 2 scores. Against ULM, Wisconsin, and Georgia, Simpson has gone 65-for-84 (77.3%) for 884 yards and 11 total touchdowns. He has taken only 1 sack. He doesn’t have a turnover. His Crimson Tide are 3-0 in those games. Simpson posted a QBR of 90.1 in the road win over Georgia last Saturday. Everything about the game — from his pregame address to the team to how he handled the win afterward — suggests a blossoming quarterback who has taken hold of his team and gained the trust of his teammates. Simpson has been awesome throwing over the middle of the field and, when allowed to sit in the pocket, has picked defenses apart.
Alabama is not a perfect team. It has issues that could cause it problems at some point down the road, much the same way they did in the opener against Florida State . However, I am not moving them up two spots to No. 3 based solely on beating Georgia. The primary force behind the move is Ty Simpson . The more I see him, the more convinced I become the Tide have one of the five best QBs in the country, and perhaps the best in the SEC. That’s worth quite a lot when it comes to figuring out a power rating. Last Week: 5 | Title Odds: +800
Ty has quickly gone from Alabama’s biggest preseason question mark to the reason that they can contend for a national title. It will get tougher as teams collect more and more film on him, so he will need to continue to develop. As Saban said through the years, staying on top is much tougher than getting there.
Last, Lane Kiffin says that dynasties are over in the modern SEC.
“In my opinion, the dynasties are over,” Kiffin told ESPN on Wednesday. “Alabama with Coach Saban and then Kirby at Georgia, where they had those rosters year in, year out and there would be a bunch of wins by 30 points in the conference, those days are done.”
Kiffin was Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2014 to 2016, helping the Crimson Tide finish 14-1 and beat Clemson 45-40 in the CFP National Championship after the 2015 season.
“When I was at Alabama, they’d be like, ‘Go watch the outside linebackers,’ and there’s six of them over there that are first-round picks,” Kiffin said. “That’s not going to happen anymore because if they don’t play, then they’re going to leave. They can’t keep them all anymore.”
He’s correct, of course. There are just too many great programs in the league now, and players do leave for greener pastures. But he’s also highlighting Saban’s concerns here: the reason that Alabama was able to stockpile talent was that the players were primarily focused on their development. Now, a good number on them are more concerned about their paycheck. That isn’t all bad since the vast majority will never collect on a NFL contract, but it’s still a reality that has deteriorated the overall level of play.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
