Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines has publicly criticized former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson for his remarks on a podcast. Simpson claimed that he knew what Indiana was going to do, but couldn't do it. Haine responded by sharing a clip from the podcast with a retort, stating that he exploited these cues and didn't get frozen and crushed by them. After some backlash on social media, Hainese doubled down, telling the Crimson Tide fanbase to "grow up" and "bounce back better". Despite a difficult season for Alabama, the team's 35-point loss was the program's worst since the turn of the century.