Ty Simpson did not play the best game of his college football career in the SEC Championship against Georgia. He proceeded to take a photo with Kirby Smart’s son, Andrew, after the loss.
Fair or foul?
Some college football fans, especially those who cheer for the Crimson Tide, think this kind of behavior proves he was just happy to be there. Others respect his kindness and respect in crushing defeat.
Alabama’s starting quarterback did not play well in the SEC Championship against Georgia.
Ty Simpson has been pretty solid this season. There were only three games where he completed less than 60% of his passes and he threw for at least two touchdowns without an interception in two of them.
Saturday was different.
Simpson completed only 19 of his 39 pass attempts for less than 250 yards with only one touchdown and an interception. He also took three sacks, for which the offensive line also deserves equal blame.
In fact, the offensive line deserves a lot of blame for the rough night.
And to his credit, it’s not like Alabama ran the ball well either. Two running backs and two wide receivers combined for only 26 yards on only nine total carries.
Still, because the Crimson Tide played from behind for most of the SEC Championship game, it was Simpson’s opportunity to step up and make something happen. He just couldn’t do it.
For example, this pass went 30 yards to the opposite sideline on 4th-and-2 when Daniel Hill was wide open on the checkdown:
That can’t happen. Hill might’ve kept the game alive if Simpson threw the ball to the correct receiver.
Ty Simpson took a photo with Kirby Smart’s son.
All of this goes to say that, while Ty Simpson was not the singular reason Alabama lost to Georgia, he was not the reason they won. Kirby Smart still went out of his way to share a kind exchange with the young quarterback after the game. It was a moment of respect between two competitors.
Kirby Smart found Ty Simpson after the SEC title game.
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 7, 2025
Nothing but respect between two competitors 👏 pic.twitter.com/ox0C4Y5tr3
Simpson later returned the favor. He took a photo with Smart’s son, Andrew, on the field after the loss. He had a big smile on his face for the camera.
Some people will see this as embarrassing. Why would the starting quarterback for the losing team take a picture with the victorious head coach’s son after such an awful defeat? It shows he did not take the loss as hard as he should have. It shows that college football has become a business that is no longer personal, especially when Simpson is going to make millions in the NFL. Would Nick Saban allow this?
Others, myself included, will see this as a class move. Simpson is being kind. He knows how to loss with respect and maturity. He might be hurting inside but he does not need to prove his pain to anyone.
The optics of this moment might be different if this happened during pregame and not postgame. Simpson left it on the field even though the result did not go his way. The game is over.
It’s not hard to be nice.