Kalen DeBoer Had Stern Message for QB Ty Simpson After Another Game With Sack Fumble

Simpson accounted for two of Alabama‘s three turnovers in the 23-21 loss to Oklahoma.

Simpson (left) has fumbled the ball off of a sack in five straight games, prompting a stern message from his coach, DeBoer (right). | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

After a turnover-filled, 23-21 home defeat to the Oklahoma Sooners, in which Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson accounted for yet another fumble off of a sack—his fifth straight game with a sack fumble—Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer was asked what his message to his QB would be in those situations.

In short, get rid of the ball.

"Yeah I mean, with the pressure that they brought, he‘s got to get rid of it and be okay with throwing it away," DeBoer said. "You can only hold on [to the ball] so long and feel like with the blitz they had, you‘re going to overwhelmed and outnumbered. And so you just got to understand the situation.

"I know it‘s third down and he wants to stay on the field, but you just got to understand, your defense is playing pretty good too. And you just got to live with punting once in awhile."

Alabama plagued by mistakes in loss to Oklahoma

The Crimson Tide couldn‘t get out of their own way in the loss to the Sooners.

Despite gaining nearly twice as many total yards as Oklahoma, committing fewer penalties than the Sooners and winning the time of possession battle, it was turnovers that ultimately sealed Alabama‘s fate. The Crimson Tide fumbled the ball three times, two of which they lost, and threw one interception, an uncharacteristic mistake from Simpson that quickly turned into seven points for the Sooners when safety Eli Bowen returned it 87 yards for a score.

87-YARD PICK SIX‼️@EliBowen12 | 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/vzVDocagWz

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 15, 2025

"Well, I think we had almost 275 yards in the first half," DeBoer said. "What’s disappointing is the turnovers, because even the interception, we were working in deep into their territory—the interception for a touchdown. And then we just gave them the ball in our own territory a couple times there.

"So I felt like, yeah, it wasn’t perfect, but we were facing a very good defense, and we understood that. And I felt like we were executing better today than we have, probably, the previous couple weeks against a very, again, against a very good defense. And so, just the big mistakes are the ones that hurt us."

Alabama will look to clean up the turnovers in a game against unranked Eastern Illinois next weekend.

---