Alabama’s starting quarterback, Ty Simpson, left the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Indiana in the third quarter with what was described as an apparent mid‑section injury and was replaced by backup Austin Mack.

Quick Scoop

What happened during the game?

  • Ty Simpson took a hard hit to his midsection on a fumble late in the first half, a play that set up an Indiana touchdown and deepened Alabama’s early hole.
  • He returned to start the second half but, after a quick three‑and‑out and visible discomfort, Alabama’s staff pulled him in the third quarter, officially calling it a coaches’ decision tied to the apparent injury.

How was he playing before exiting?

  • Simpson completed 12 of 16 passes but for only 67 yards, struggling to push the ball downfield even though his completion percentage looked solid.
  • On the ground, he was actually Alabama’s leading rusher at that point, with 3 carries for 17 yards, but the costly fumble shifted momentum sharply to Indiana.

Who replaced him and how did it go?

  • Redshirt sophomore Austin Mack, who had seen only limited action this season (13-of-16 passing for 125 yards entering the game), took over at quarterback.
  • Mack led Alabama to its first points of the night with a field‑goal drive after entering, trying to jump‑start an offense that had been shut out and trailed 24–0 when the change was made.

Bigger picture and recent context

  • Earlier in the season, Simpson had briefly climbed into early Heisman Trophy conversations as Alabama rallied from a Week 1 loss and pushed back into the playoff race.
  • Despite fading from Heisman talk and Alabama losing the SEC title game to Georgia, he remained the clear QB1 heading into the Rose Bowl before this injury‑linked benching reignited chatter about the Tide’s quarterback situation.

TL;DR: If you’re seeing people ask “what happened to Alabama QB,” they’re almost certainly talking about Ty Simpson getting hammered on a fumble, gutting it out to start the second half, then being taken out in the third quarter for Austin Mack because of an apparent mid‑section injury and performance concerns in the Rose Bowl vs. Indiana.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.