For head coach Clark Lee, quarterback Diego Pavia, and everyone at Vanderbilt football (previously 0-60 against top-five opponents), it seems laughably big from the outside looking in. The result seemed like a dream, but from the inside…maybe it wasn’t.
For No. 1 Alabama, fresh off a thrilling victory over Georgia, it was a nightmarish performance that could have implications for the postseason in the expanded 12-team playoffs.
Vandy 40, Alabama 35…and partying in the party town of Nashville.
Leah has been slowly growing the Commodores. But four years into his tenure, he was in dire need of a credible win beyond what die-hard fans were seeing. After all, Vandy was 0-8 in SEC play a year ago.
He may have found his perfect match in Pavia, a tough New Mexico transfer destination. At 6 feet tall and 210 pounds, he’s a balled-up fist who took an opportunity with the vaunted Crimson Tide. How about 16-of-20 and 2 touchdown passes at 252? How are the other 57 rushing?
Vanderbilt didn’t just beat Alabama. It bulldozed the Tide. They beat the University of Alabama (418-394) and the University of Alabama (166-84). He converted 12 of 18 third downs and went 1-on-1 on the fourth. Some of them were straight effort plays, with runners scrambling for extra yards.
Vanderbilt had the ball for 42:08 and dominated the period of possession. Let it marinate for a while.
“This is a dream…” Lear said afterward on SEC Network. “There are too many things to express right now. I’m proud of our team. I believe in our team. I believe in what we’re building. I There’s more to us than this. It’s not the end, but it’s a hell of a arrival.”
This was no fluke. This is what Leah wants for Vandy and she knows it can be. He’ll never have the five-star appeal of the Tide, but if they play side by side, he’ll have a chance.
And that may be the scariest part for Alabama.
Even if they can’t physically overwhelm Vanderbilt, can they last the rest of the season? Just a week ago, the victory came in an epic matchup against Georgia, but it came after giving up a 28-0 lead, and it was an out-of-this-world performance from freshman Ryan Williams (who was no different against Vandy). It required incredible acrobatic talent.
Was this Tide team, Karen DeBoer’s team, built for an upcoming battle that included at least three rounds of the playoffs, and perhaps a fourth for Alabama?
One of Nick Saban’s greatest traits was keeping his team focused on the task at hand, regardless of the opponent, play, or situation. That’s how he won, won, won, including all four times his University of Alabama team faced Vanderbilt. They won by a total of 172-13.
“We feel like we have a great football team,” DeBoer said. “We weren’t at our best today. We’re going to know how much we value each other.”
The entire state of Alabama is looking for clues.
This is a different Commodore team, but it’s also a different Alabama team. Be looser and more creative in attack. It might be fun. In the long run, you should win a lot. But standards are standards, and seeing Vandy storm the field is not one of the standards.
Alabama is by no means finished. But at 1-1 in the SEC, there’s little margin for error at this point, and the Tide still has road games at Tennessee and LSU remaining. It’s anyone’s guess how the selection committee will consider so-called “bad losses,” where Vanderbilt goes 3-2 and approaches .500. Maybe Vandy is starting to rack up wins and this doesn’t seem too bad. We can only hope for the trend.
New coach, new team, new era, new emotions, or at least ones we haven’t experienced since before Saban arrived.
How good are these guys? How trustworthy can these people be? If Vandy can muscle them up, what about the Vols, Tigers, etc. Ryan Williams is so dominant.
The University of Alabama ranked first overall. Vandy turned the program around with a timeless performance after losing 10 straight games to top-ranked teams.
There are a lot of questions for Alabama right now, and no one is sure of the answers.
