No. 10 Alabama exacted revenge on No. 16 Vanderbilt, defeating the Commodores 30-14 Saturday afternoon a year after last season’s stunning loss in Nashville.
Quarterback Ty Simpson threw for 340 yards and a pair of touchdowns while running back Jam Miller ran for 136 yards and a score in his second game back from injury.
“Our guys right now are just showing up and doing the work,” head coach Kalen DeBoer said. “That’s what’s got us to this point.”
His team started the game with the football and had a promising opening drive, marching to the Vanderbilt 29. However, a fourth down interception from Simpson ended the Crimson Tide’s hopes at points and gave the Commodores possession at their own 9-yard line.
Vanderbilt then made a statement by drawing first blood via a 65-yard rushing touchdown from running back Sedrick Alexander. This gave the visitors a 7-0 lead with 6:34 left in the first quarter, a nightmarish start to this revenge game for Alabama.
DeBoer said that his team did not give up after the rough start and explained the team’s thought process during the beginning of the game when things looked bleak.
“If we just execute, the game will come to us and we’ll make those plays,” DeBoer said. “That’s really what they did. They’re just still honed in on doing their part and knowing that the rest of the guys are going to rally.”
Things looked to be getting on track for the Crimson Tide as it drove down to the Vanderbilt 28, but a holding penalty stalled the drive and resulted in a 47-yard field goal attempt from kicker Conor Talty, which he missed with 3:45 left in the first.
The Commodores, led by flashy play from quarterback Diego Pavia, carved up the Alabama defense, setting Vanderbilt up at the Crimson Tide 8. Linebacker Justin Jefferson flipped the melancholy vibe inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on its head by forcing a fumble and giving the Crimson Tide possession to start the second quarter.
“A takeaway is always good energy, especially when the defense gets a takeaway and the offense goes down and marches down the field,” defensive tackle Tim Keenan III said.
Alabama seized momentum and turned it into another long drive. This time, it converted on a key fourth and 7 and followed that up with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Simpson to wide receiver Ryan Williams with 9:22 left in the half.
Two drives later, Vanderbilt retook the lead at 14-0 with a Pavia shovel pass to Alexander for a 4-yard touchdown. This gave the Crimson Tide possession with just 1:28 left in the half.
Alabama swiftly responded with a 1:11 drive to send the game into the locker room tied at 14. The score came on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Simpson to wide receiver Germie Bernard.
The play from both squads in the first half proved that this game would be a dogfight.
The Crimson Tide set the tempo out of the break, forcing a Vanderbilt punt and drilling a 38-yard field goal to take its first lead of the afternoon at 17-14.
“Coming back out of the locker room, I was really proud of the defense,” DeBoer said.
After forcing another Commodore punt, Alabama drove deep into the opposing side of the field and had to settle for another field goal to make the score 20-14 with 1:17 left in the third quarter. The drive featured some darts from Simpson but did not yield a touchdown.
Vanderbilt didn’t go away, though. A nervous Bryant-Denny Stadium looked on as Pavia marched his squad down into Alabama territory and set the Commodores up for a score. Safety Keon Sabb crashed the party, stepping in front of a pass for an interception and giving Alabama the ball at its own 19.
The Crimson Tide all but sealed the game after draining the clock to 4:08 and sinking a 30-yard field goal to go up 23-14, but Vanderbilt got the ball back with a chance to make things interesting.
Pavia and the Commodore offense had no response to both the Alabama defense and the deafening crowd. He tossed the game-losing incompletion on fourth and 21 with 1:18 left, and Miller put the exclamation point on the 30-14 win with a 20-yard touchdown run in the waning seconds.
“It’s all-around good football,” Simpson said, adding that he was “just really, really proud of the guys.”
DeBoer wasted no time moving on from this victory as he looked ahead to next week’s task against another ranked opponent.
“We’ve used the analogy of a 15-round heavyweight fight,” DeBoer said. “That’s what it’s got to be every single week. We’ve got to go do that again this week against Missouri.”
The Crimson Tide’s road showdown with No. 19 Missouri is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Saturday and can be streamed on ABC.
