PASADENA, Calif. -- Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said he suffered a cracked rib in the first half of the Crimson Tide's 38-3 loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal Thursday at the Rose Bowl.
Simpson said the injury occurred after he took a helmet to the rib while scrambling for a first down late in the first half. He fumbled on the play, however, and Indiana recovered.
"Felt like I had a good thing going on that drive when I got hit," said Simpson, who completed 12 of 16 passes for only 67 yards in the game. "It kind of changed the momentum for sure. ... The competitor in me wanted to make sure I got the first down. Got more than the first down, and then should have been smart and just got down."
Simpson said he had an X-ray at halftime, and he was on the field to start the second half for the Crimson Tide. After a three-and-out, he said he realized that he couldn't play through the injury and "I made an executive decision and thought [about] what gave us the best chance to win."
Backup Austin Mack played the rest of the game for Alabama.
Said Simpson: "I thought Austin being 100 percent could help us win."
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said Simpson wanted to see if he could continue to play in the second half.
"We treated him there at halftime and he gave it a series, and I know he feels like he let down the team -- and there's no way that that's the case," DeBoer said. "He went out there and tried to battle, and that's who he is. And so I'm never going to let that be a thing where he [thinks he] let us down in any way."
Mack, a redshirt sophomore who has completed 13 of 16 passes this season for 125 yards, guided the Crimson Tide to a field goal on his first drive for Alabama's first -- and only -- points of the game.
Mack, a third-year sophomore, went 11-of-16 for 103 yards against the Hoosiers with three sacks.
"He did some nice things when he got on the football field," DeBoer said of Mack. "[It's] a tough spot when you're trying to catch up and it's the third quarter already."