Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson may have been "lapped" in the Heisman race on Saturday night, despite his team's 20-9 victory over the LSU Tigers at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Specifically, by Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza.
As Saturday Down South's David Wasson noted, the team's overall success is more important than Simpson's mundane performance against the Bayou Bengals not moving his Heisman agenda forward.
"The Crimson Tide earned a 17th-straight home victory mainly by tightening their defense like a boa constrictor the closer the Tigers got to the goal line – forcing LSU to settle for a trio of Damian Ramos field goals and keeping the Tigers out of the end zone for the first time since the 2012 national championship game. That Alabama defense also confused and confounded LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier so much that interim Tigers coach Frank Wilson benched the senior and turned into sophomore Michael Van Buren Jr. in the third quarter," Wasson wrote
"Not that all that defense turned into a lot of Alabama points, as Heisman contender Ty Simpson was less-than-sharp on his side of the ball. The junior finished 21-for-35 with 277 passing yards and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Williams right before halftime. Alabama’s rushing attack also continued to underwhelm, totaling just 56 yards and producing only a 4-yard Daniel Hill TD run in the second quarter.
"In the final analysis, though, it matters not that Simpson likely got lapped in the race to Mr. Stiff Arm by Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza but that the Alabama defense did enough to keep Alabama alive in the marathon that is the march to the College Football Playoff."
Not properly setting up the passing game with an effective run is concerning. LSU is one thing, but Big Ten defenses in the College Football Playoff are another. Especially more complete teams like Indiana and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Who knows? Maybe the TAMU Aggies are also a challenge. The Aggies could crash the top two in some rankings after a dominant 38-17 win over the Missouri Tigers in CoMo. Until proven otherwise, TAMU looks to be for real.
It's on Simpson to prove he belongs in Heisman conversations against stout Oklahoma Sooners and Auburn Tigers defenses first before focusing on a New York City Saturday night in December. Lose one more game down the stretch, and his Heisman case isn't even better than Vanderbilt Commodores QB Diego Pavia's, which is growing with every win.