Ty Simpson Embraces the Noise as Alabama Prepares for Rose Bowl Showdown vs. No. 1 Indiana

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The outside noise has followed Alabama all season, and as the Crimson Tide heads west for the Rose Bowl, that noise has only gotten louder.

Questions about toughness.

Questions about legitimacy.

Questions about whether Alabama even belonged in the College Football Playoff.

Quarterback Ty Simpson heard it all, and he didn’t ignore it.

“All the noise of us not being a good team, not being tough, shouldn’t be in the Playoff, made us feel some type of way,” Simpson said. “Being an underdog, playing against the No. 1 team, you gotta love that. That’s why you play college football and why you come to the University of Alabama.”

Those words perfectly frame Alabama’s mindset heading into its Rose Bowl Playoff matchup against No. 1 ranked Indiana. The Hoosiers enter Pasadena as the top team in the country, carrying national praise and expectations.

Alabama arrives carrying something different: motivation.

For a program accustomed to being the measuring stick, this underdog role is unfamiliar territory. But Simpson believes it’s exactly where this team thrives. The Rose Bowl isn’t just another postseason game. It’s win or go home. There are no style points, no second chances, and no room for doubt.

Indiana’s rise to No. 1 has been one of the season’s biggest storylines, but Alabama isn’t interested in narratives. The Crimson Tide sees an opportunity to remind the country what playoff football looks like when it’s played with urgency, physicality, and belief.

Simpson understands the weight of the moment. As Alabama’s quarterback, his calm confidence matters. His words reflect a locker room that has embraced the challenge rather than shied away from it. Alabama isn’t asking for respect, it plans to take it.

The Rose Bowl stage demands toughness, discipline, and poise.

Against the nation’s top-ranked team, every snap will matter. Simpson knows that this is exactly why players choose Alabama, not for comfort, but for moments when everything is on the line.

Alabama doesn’t need outside validation.

It doesn’t need anyone picking them to win.

As Simpson said, being the underdog against No. 1 is something you “gotta love.”

Because in Pasadena, the only thing that matters is what happens between the lines, and Alabama plans to make that moment count.

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