Paul Finebaum declares Alabama back, Ty Simpson is Heisman contender after win vs. Georgia

The season started on the wrong foot for the Alabama Crimson Tide with a loss to Florida State. Now, it’s firmly back on track after beating Georgia to make the jump to 3-1. Certainly, it’s a change that ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is excited about.

Finebaum would appear on SportsCenter on Sunday morning. There, he praised Alabama, declaring that the Crimson Tide are back and that quarterback Ty Simpson has made himself a Heisman Trophy contender.

“I’m already hearing Roll Tide tomorrow afternoon on The Finebaum Show,” Paul Finebaum said. “Bama fans are back. Alabama is back, and listen, it was easy to write them off a month ago. That Florida State game took a shot the other night when Virginia won, but still it’s just extraordinary to watch Kalen DeBoer bring this school back.”

Alabama would jump out and score 24 points in the first half. That gave the Crimson Tide a two-score lead going into the half. In the second half, both defenses were able to clamp down, and in the end, the Crimson Tide held on to win in Athens. In that effort, Alabama would control the clock, holding onto the ball for 35:36 of the game. That was, in part, boosted by converting 13 of 19 third downs, compared to just 2 of 8 by Georgia.

For the game, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson completed 24 of 38 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns. That was enough to catch Paul Finebaum’s attention. Certainly, after the slow start in Week 1, he’s turned things around and now could even become a Heisman contender.

“Ty Simpson is elite at quarterback,” Finebaum said. “He is now in the Heisman race and we weren’t even sure he would start the third game of the season.”

For the season, Ty Simpson is completing 69.3 percent of his passes for 1,138 yards and 11 touchdowns without an interception. That’s in four games or the first third of the regular season. On top of that, he’s rushed for 57 yards and another two touchdowns.

Of course, there is still plenty of season to go for Alabama. Next up, the Crimson Tide need to get set to host Vanderbilt. Last season, of course, the Commodores upset the Crimson Tide. It also represents the second game in a stretch of games where Alabama is set to play four-straight ranked opponents. That’s a stretch where six of seven SEC opponents are ranked in the AP Top 25.