NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Alabama suffered its first loss of the season in an upset fashion against Vanderbilt 40-35 on Saturday to drop to 4-1.
The loss for Alabama marked arguably the greatest win in Vanderbilt football history. Going into Saturday, Vanderbilt was 0-60 against AP top 5 opponents while Alabama was 64-3 all-time as a top-ranked team facing an unranked opponent.
So how did Alabama end up on the wrong side of this historic college football upset?
To start, look no further than the time of possession throughout the game. Vanderbilt dominated the battle of possession time, holding the ball for over 41 out of the 60 minutes in the game.
“They just did a nice job on third down. I really don’t feel like they would have been pressing as much, especially even score,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said postgame.
One way Vanderbilt was able to possess the ball for almost three quarters of the game is winning on third down an overwhelming number of times.
The Commodores converted 12 of 18 attempts on third down (66.7%). Coming into the game, Alabama led all FBS teams in third down defense, allowing its opponents to convert on third down just 16% of the time.
“They made throws and big catches they needed to and got themselves into some manageable third downs early in the game,” DeBoer said. “So they just continued to wear on us and stay on the football field.”
Two Alabama turnovers also contributed to the Crimson Tide’s loss.
After Vanderbilt started the game with a touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead, quarterback Jalen Milroe threw an interception on the offense’s third play from scrimmage that got returned for another Vanderbilt touchdown, putting Alabama in a 13-0 deficit in the first seven minutes of the game.
The second Crimson Tide turnover also came at a critical time in the game. Down 33-28 with 11 minutes left in the final quarter, the Alabama offense quickly drove down the field to the Vanderbilt 39-yard line.
But on the third play of the drive, Vanderbilt forced a fumble after sacking Milroe to hold off Alabama from taking a lead.
Vanderbilt’s offense ended up turning the Crimson Tide turnover into a touchdown with five minutes left in the game to take a commanding 40-28 lead.
“It comes down to being assignment sound, and they put you in isolated spots where one guy has to get the ball carrier down,” DeBoer said. “And they’re just slippery enough, especially the quarterback, just being able to make people miss.”
Indeed, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia caused issues for the Alabama defense all game. Pavia finished the game completing 80% of his passes with 252 yards and two touchdowns. On top of that, he picked up 56 rushing yards on 20 rushes.
Penalties also factored into how Alabama lost the game.
Down 13-7 in the final seconds of the first quarter, Alabama forced Vanderbilt to punt on 4th and 4 after stopping the Commodores three consecutive plays. But when Vanderbilt punted, Alabama was called for a 5-yard penalty for illegal substitution.
The penalty allowed Vanderbilt to keep the ball and extended their drive all the way down the field for a touchdown to take a 20-7 lead.
“We win as a team and lose as a team and those are the things that really hurt you because they kept the drive alive and ended up scoring a touchdown,” DeBoer said.
Saturday’s loss dropped Alabama down to seventh in the new AP Top 25 poll released Sunday. The Crimson Tide will look to bounce back Saturday as Alabama hosts South Carolina.
