Ryan Grubb Confirms Stricter Ty Simpson Stance to Avoid Alabama’s Week 1 Repeat

Tuscaloosa didn’t need fireworks on Saturday night—the Crimson Tide lit up the scoreboard all by themselves. After the Week 1 stumble against Florida State left fans restless, Alabama came home and dropped a record-shattering 73–0 beatdown on Louisiana-Monroe. Ty Simpson didn’t miss a throw, literally, going 17-for-17 in a performance that screamed redemption. But if you thought that was just pure talent on display, Ryan Grubb made it clear: this was discipline, toughness, and a new no-nonsense stance from the man calling plays.

Alabama’s offense looked like it was running downhill with a jetpack. Kalen DeBoer’s unit scored on all 11 possessions—10 touchdowns and a field goal—something you’d usually only see on Madden. Simpson was the conductor of this orchestra, slinging for 226 yards and three scores, breaking school records with a 17-for-17 clip that tied the second-longest completion streak in Bama history. The crazy part? They did it all without star freshman Ryan Williams, still sidelined with a concussion.

Alabama OC Ryan Grubb: “I thought maybe I wasn’t hard enough on Ty [before Florida State]. I didn’t harden him enough for the moment … I didn’t want to make that same mistake again.”

— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) September 8, 2025

Grubb didn’t sugarcoat the difference between Week 1’s upset loss and Week 2’s demolition. “I thought maybe I wasn’t hard enough on Ty [before Florida State],” he admitted via Mike Rodak’s report. “I didn’t harden him enough for the moment…I didn’t want to make that same mistake again.” Translation: no more soft landings for Simpson. The leash got tighter, the expectations higher—and the results spoke loud.

Week 1 had shown the cracks. Simpson tossed for 254 yards and two touchdowns against FSU, but Bama’s offense looked clunky, stalled on key downs, and the line folded under pressure. The Tide took a 31–17 loss that had half the country roasting their dynasty on social media. Simpson wasn’t the main issue, but Grubb took responsibility for not pressing his quarterback harder.

Fast forward a week, and Simpson looked like a QB who literally studied the whole scripture of the playbook, and decided he was done being the setup man in someone else’s joke. A perfect completion percentage, 3 touchdowns, and zero turnovers gave Alabama fans a reason to breathe again. His efficiency was surgical—ball out quick, receivers in stride, no wasted movement.

Alabama’s defense matched that energy. Against Florida State, they looked like a shell of themselves, forcing zero turnovers and getting gashed in space. Against ULM? Whole different animal. The Tide racked up 12 tackles for loss, three forced turnovers, and held the Warhawks to just 148 yards. James Smith lived in the backfield, Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. stripped a ball loose, and Justin Jefferson grabbed a pick that had Bryant-Denny shaking.

DeBoer summed it up after the game: the team “made their minds up” to respond. And that’s the part that matters most—it wasn’t just a cupcake opponent, it was a team choosing violence after a week of hearing doubts. Now, the question is whether this new edge can stick when the lights get brighter.

Ryan Grubb gives props to Keelon Russell

Ty Simpson owned the headlines, but Alabama’s QB room showed just how scary the depth runs. Red-shirt sophomore Austin Mack stepped in early, completing 8 of 10 passes for 2 touchdowns like it was business as usual. But the real eye-catcher? Freshman Keelon Russell making his debut.

Russell, a five-star with sky-high hype, played like he’d been here before. Four completions on six attempts, one touchdown, and poise that had fans nodding like, “Yeah, this kid’s next.” His score came on a pocket-collapsing play where he slid up, kept his eyes downfield, and zipped it to Cole Adams for six.

Grubb saw it too. “I expected both of them to play well,” he said postgame. “You want to just see how they perform in a stadium full of people … I thought they both did a good job of securing the ball, they didn’t put it in jeopardy.” For now, Mack is the No. 2—he got the earlier reps, and his experience shows. But Russell’s ceiling is ridiculous. Watching him in mop-up duty was like peeking at the future of Alabama football, and it looked plenty bright.

And that’s the scary part for the rest of college football. Week 1 may have handed Alabama a bruise, but Week 2 showed that Alabama is still Alabama. Wisconsin comes to Tuscaloosa next, and if Grubb’s stricter stance on Simpson holds, the Tide might just have found their new blueprint for survival.

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