CFP FIRST ROUND: ALABAMA VS OKLAHOMA

December 19, 2025

Kalen DeBoer

Ty Simpson

Deontae Lawson

Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

Alabama Crimson Tide

Postgame Press Conference

Alabama 34, Oklahoma 24

KALEN DeBOER: Just couldn't be more proud of these guys, the resiliency. It's been kind of a theme all season long. But it showed up tonight in a big way, on the road, down 17. Coming back the way we did, just one score at a time, just really stayed the course.

Each side of the ball had their moments and big plays, and we just kept plugging away.

Last night we talked about it being a team that's going to have to come out here and play together, and that's exactly what I saw tonight. Couldn't be more proud of these guys.

Q. Ty, that first touchdown drive when you scored on 4th and 2, what was your message and mentality at that point in the game?

TY SIMPSON: Keep going. That's kind of been our message all season. Situational football, right? There's probably a number of times where we've been in that situation before. Just kind of did what we do, right?

I knew my read, knew what was going on. We got really good players, so Lotzeir made a really good play, and he scored. That's kind of what happened.

Q. Deontae, in a similar vein, y'all were up three, backed up against your goal line. What was the message for the defense to stand tall and keep Oklahoma back there?

DEONTAE LAWSON: Yeah, we knew we had to be aggressive in that moment. We just wanted to get the best field position for our offense, force a punt right there. Yeah, that was really the main message, just be aggressive and just keep doing our job.

Q. For both players, Coach Grubb just said he feels like what happened in the SEC Championship game helped you come back tonight and he saw a different resolve in the team tonight. Do you feel the same way, that what happened in the last time-out kind of helped tonight?

TY SIMPSON: Yeah, I guess we can thank you guys for that. Y'all kind of wrote us off in that sort of way, so appreciate that.

DEONTAE LAWSON: I mean, Ty just said it right there, honestly. He just said it. People tried to write us off. That's when we're at our best.

Q. Ty, how big was the catch by Lotzeir Brooks on that 3rd down on the first scoring drive, and when you have receivers that make plays like that, how much confidence does it give you?

TY SIMPSON: I mean, those guys have been doing that all year. I expect them to make plays like that. Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. We have about, what, 85 scholarship players who are big-time players, so that's what happens. Germ made a great play and Lotzeir made a great play. There was just a number of great plays out there, so not just one.

Q. Ty, you mentioned people in this room have been doubting you. How does it feel to silence the doubters and do it coming back from down 17-0 like you guys did today?

TY SIMPSON: What did Kobe say? We're not done yet. That's all I've got to say.

Q. Did you expect 50 Cent to show up tonight, and what was that moment like on the sideline?

DEONTAE LAWSON: No, we didn't expect 50 Cent to show up, but the crazy thing about that is we always listen to Many Men on Fridays, so we definitely got some juice right there for sure.

TY SIMPSON: I'm going to be honest; I didn't know that was 50 Cent until later. But I did know that song, so...

Q. Was there a moment in the game that you guys knew you were going to make a comeback and that you had them?

DEONTAE LAWSON: Man, I just think we're a resilient team. Even though we were down 17-0, we didn't really look at the scoreboard. We know Coach DeBoer always says keep playing and the game will come back to you. That's been our mindset all year.

We know we're a resilient bunch, and we're just going to keep fighting.

TY SIMPSON: Yeah, there wasn't a doubt in my mind at all. The guys that we have, the players, the coaches, like 17-0 is nothing to us. Give us the ball; we'll go down, do what we do. Give them the ball, they'll go down and do what they do. That's all.

Q. I want to bring you back to third quarter, you're up 7, you've got a 4th and 6 and you kick a field goal there to go up 10. Y'all have been aggressive on 4th down all year. Was there any thought there going for that 4th and 6 or was it an easy choice to get the three points and go up 10?

KALEN DeBOER: That's a good question. I think to go up 10, make it a two-score game, give us that cushion there, felt like we were in good field goal range, and just outside of probably six yards, seven yards, a lot of different things they can dial up. We went for it earlier, and that was in two to three in the third quarter or second quarter and that was probably a little different situation, especially when you've got your backs to the wall. But when we got the lead, taking a two-score lead, that was actually a pretty easy decision on that one.

Q. A season ago there were times where you guys would get down and not be able to bounce back, specifically here even. What do you think prepared your guys to be able to bounce back in this game tonight?

KALEN DeBOER: You're exactly right. Especially on the road, right? We couldn't overcome. A lot of times it's just guys making plays and just continuing to stay the course.

We just talked about that so much this off-season. A couple things, just what we were going to do and how you chip away. You can't go score a 17-point touchdown. You've got to go score one score, even if it's three points. That's what our guys did.

I really felt, and I know ZB got that interception right before the half, and that was big, but I was actually feeling really good about the spot we were in right before that. If we can go in 17-10 and get the ball to start the fourth quarter, we've clawed our way back in. You know it's going to be one that goes down to the wire, and the interception, that gave us a lot of life going into the locker room at halftime. We fed off that, and guys, I think, realized it was a 0-0 game. Just went out there and just kept applying more pressure and applying more pressure.

The field position really in the second half or as this game went on kind of flipped from what it was in the fourth quarter where we couldn't move the ball. They got shorter fields, and then we finally got the punt, the block there, and that kind of got the shorter field kind of thing going for us, and that carried on into the second half, which helped us a lot.

Q. You clearly saw a very, very confident Ty Simpson, and there's been talk of his struggles and if he's hurt, things like that, going into this game. What did you see out of him, especially in that second half, to kind of lead that resurgence for you guys?

KALEN DeBOER: I just saw a guy committed to just bringing energy. Your quarterback is so important, and obviously with Ty and our success revolving around what he can do, he committed last night and said it to the whole team, that I'm just going to give you everything I've got from an energy standpoint. I think that just led to him going out there and making some plays.

Him pulling the ball on some times when you could just hand it off, a little bit of the RPO stuff, him doing that in some critical moments, it was really great to see him doing that and then our guys go make some plays for him was the second part of it, something that when we're struggling, just someone not stepping up, I felt like they did that in the first quarter. They made some diving catches along the sideline, and we were just coming up short.

But guys started making plays for him. He started having confidence in them. They found a way to move the ball.

Q. Ty talked about being fueled by the doubt and some of the naysayers here. How do you feel yourself off the momentum, and how do you capitalize and just bottle what you have after this game?

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, there's no question, the doubt piece. There's enough confidence within our group to where we just can't -- we can see the doubters. We can see the naysayers, and just go still play our game. This group is tight enough to where there's never been any finger pointing. There's never been anything like that.

I think Deontae said it really well. We always talk about the game is going to come back to us. We have too many good players, and if you just keep fighting, you're going to force them to make a mistake. Something is going to happen. Just keep coming after them play after play, and the game is going to come back to you, and that's what happened tonight. The game came back to us, and all of a sudden we found opportunities where we could attack and go take advantage and then more plays being made.

This was something hopefully we can really build off of. We'll get into the next two weeks now, again, putting a good game plan together, getting a chance to go on the road, go out west and play in the Rose Bowl.

Q. How big were special teams tonight? Last time you guys played obviously that was something, but you guys flipped the script this time around. How big was that, especially in the second half?

KALEN DeBOER: Really big. The punt early in the game and just -- obviously Talty making his field goals, windy, it was kind of swirling. You stand on one end, it's going one way, it kind of gets inside the stadium, goes the other. Just didn't really feel like he was affected by it.

Really proud of him, the way he's continued to just stay the course, get the team to support him by just continuing to work. The guys have done that. Again, no finger pointing ever, and just love the way these guys come together. We know there's going to be more battles ahead. There's going to be more great teams out there. It's going to be the next one against Indiana. We know they're a special team and they've got a special season going, so it'll be a great challenge for us.

Q. Lotzeir had his first two touchdowns of the season tonight. How have you seen him all year grow into a role on the offense as a true freshman and really step up tonight in big moments?

KALEN DeBOER: Those were his first two total? Yeah, the guy, he's got twitch. He's got the ability to separate. Then he's really good with the ball in his hands. I think you saw a little bit of all that happen, whether it would be on 3rd down, on a 3rd down there in the first half, the touchdowns, winning before you catch the ball and the other one winning after you have the ball in your hands.

Love the energy he brings. He's pretty loose and easygoing, and sometimes I make sure I've got to reel him in a little bit. But man, that's when he's at his best, so just let him be who he is, kind of figuring out your players as you go through the season. He came out and had a great game, and you could see him and Ty really connecting and being on the same page.

Q. Can you take me to that time-out you used right before ZB's interception? Were you trying to lure them into a pass there to try to get that turnover? That was an aggressive time-out for you and you only had one left.

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, we had one more. Was that a 2nd down? It was 2nd down. Really if you can try to -- if they want to be aggressive and you can get an incomplete pass, we can get one more shot. Again, you've seen us go down the field at the end of a half and try to get three points, seven points, make them have to punt it, especially with what had happened earlier. You can go after them and just keep applying pressure, make them snap it again, and it just felt like where we were at on the field, I know they've got a really good field goal kicker, but they weren't far from being in his range, either.

That's just kind of how we've played. You're not reckless, but you also want to be aggressive.

Q. Down 17-0, what's the vibe on the sideline? What's the vibe on the headset? What were you guys saying to each other in that moment?

KALEN DeBOER: Ty seemed pretty confident. But I think it just goes back to that I know what I was trying to get guys to believe in is just one score. Just get one score. Even if you make it a 10-point game going into the half. Then you just get one more in the third quarter, make it a one-score game or just chip away.

A year ago when we were in this very place, that's what we had said. We were down, I think, 21 points at one point. We just said, hey, if we can get seven points on the board by the end of the third quarter and we had an opportunity there right at the beginning of the fourth, a play that wasn't called a touchdown, but we just knew that. Just get one. Those are things in the off-season we've talked about; what do you do when you're in that spot. Just chip away. Just put a pressure on them.

Even at the end, it flips the other way, right? They got their opportunities, too. You just want to put the game away, but there was two good teams going at each other. So that was our mindset. Just play the next play, get some points on the board, and just keep coming after them. There's a whole half of football.

The games can go fast, but it's a long game. There's a lot of plays, and there's a lot of momentum swings that are going to happen, and our guys were just steady through it all.

Q. Coach Grubb said that there was an address either during or after the Georgia game, the SEC Championship game, about getting away from you. Can you explain what that was, and how did the SEC Championship performance impact you guys today when you were down 17?

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, what's done is done, and once we got into the playoffs, this was our opportunity. We wanted that game. We want to win an SEC Championship, but it was behind us. It wasn't anything we could control anymore, but greatness lies in the future. That's what we really focused on. Having a couple weeks, we knew we'd get some of those guys back and healthy, and that was key, I think, for us to feel that we can become the team we know we're capable of. Don't overthink it. A lot of guys doing a little bit better in everything that they can control, and when that happens -- that's really what happens a little bit during the game tonight. Everyone just did a little bit better, and then all of a sudden because of the players you have, they go make a play and change the game.

Just everyone kind of owning their space, owning the issues that we had in the past, correcting it, and just being all in. That was the message here the last couple games, just being all in. So that was really the case since that game two weeks ago.

Q. The blocked punt from Tim Keenan in the second quarter, what did that do momentum-wise for you guys? Were you all going after it?

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, we weren't going after it. We were in pretty much a conservative situation there. Just we had got dropped, and he picked up the ball. The field position against an Oklahoma team is so critical with their defense. So that was huge. That was really huge for us.

The takeaways and the field position just really kind of was the opposite of the first game back at home. There's more things we can point to, as well, but that was the case.

We got the interception for a touchdown, and we got the shorter field there in that case and took advantage of it.

Q. Has Ty been doing anything different ball security-wise? Seems like he's been doing a better job not fumbling when he gets sacked.

KALEN DeBOER: Just being really conscious of it. We're just talking about that all the time. All of our guys, but again, the ball was out again a couple times tonight. It's something you can just not take for granted ever.

Ty knows how important it is. Sometimes he's in those vulnerable positions, but he knows he's got to take care of the football. That's a priority for our football team. It has been all season. It was good to see him -- I know he got hit a few times, but he took care of it, and that first and foremost was what he needed to do.