The School: The “University” of Alabama
Record: 3-1 (1-0 in the SEC)
Ranking: AP #10, Coaches’ Poll #11, and SP+ #10
Mascot: Big Al. People make fun of Auburn for their mascot and chant disconnect. Alabama
are the Crimson Tide yet have an elephant. I guess they knew that Tulane had the superior water-based nickname and decided to have a mascot that best represented their average fan.
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama. East Alabama sucks. There are no redeeming qualities.
Coach: Kalen DeBoer. The former Washington Huskies head coach stepped into the highest pressure situation imaginable last season as he tried to fill the shoes of legendary coach Nick Saban. Coming off his 11-2 and 14-1 (with a loss in the CFP NCG) seasons at Washington, expectations were sky high but were unrealized in his first season which included a soul-crushing loss to a certain team in Nashville.
Conference: The S-E-C.
All-time vs. Vanderbilt: 60-20-4.
In the Last 10 Years vs. Vanderbilt: 2-1
In the Last 5 Years vs. Vanderbilt: 1-1 aaaand
The Last Time We Saw These Guys: Vanderbilt 40, Alabama 35. Shock. The. World. Vanderbilt jumped out to a 13-0 lead after a 10-play opening drive punctuated with a Sedrick Alexander TD run then a tipped pass pick 6 by Randon Fontenette. A missed PAT gave Vanderbilt fans some concern that the good luck was gone, especially when Alabama marched down for a TD of their own. The Commodores never backed down and took a 23-14 lead into halftime.
The second half got off to an uneasy start when Alabama returned the kickoff nearly to midfield then scored a TD in only 5 plays before stopping Vanderbilt on the ensuing drive. Thankfully, the Dores held the Tide to a 3-and-out. The teams traded TDs, and Vanderbilt got a FG. The 5-point lead was teetering as Alabama crossed midfield. Miles Capers turned hero as he got into the backfield for a strip sack of Jalen Milroe.
Vanderbilt would burn 4:29 off the clock on their way to a TD for reserve TE Kamrean Johnson. It would be his only reception of the entire season, and it should be enshrined in Vanderbilt lore. Alabama would score to get back to down 5, yet they never saw the ball again after choosing to kick it deep to Vanderbilt’s offense that would march down the field while the clock ticked until going into a glorious victory formation.
Is Vandy Favored?: No. The line opened with Vanderbilt as 13.5-point underdogs then got as low as 9.5 before getting back to 12.5. Bill Connelly’s SP+ has this as a 2-point game. I have seen a few other models that have it right around 9 points. Hopefully, the late movement is just the public reacting to Vanderbilt’s players being publicly confident and expecting a response from Alabama’s players.
Most Potent Offensive Threat: Ty Simpson had a rough game against Florida State in his first career start. He was 23/43 for 254 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs. His QBR was 49.9. Since then, he has torched ULM (perfect 17/17 for 226 yards and 3 TDs), Wisconsin (24/29 for 382 yards and 4 TDs), and UGA (24/38 for 276 yards and 2 TDs). His QBRs for those games were 99.5, 89.7, and 90.1, respectively. He has 2 elite WRs in Germie Bernard and Ryan “No Longer 17” Williams.
Most Potent Defensive Threat: Bray Hubbard has 2 INTs on the season already and leads the Crimson Tide in both total and solo tackles. The Free Safety will be the one tasked with keeping Tre Richardson, Junior Sherrill, and whoever else Tim Beck draws up a deep shot for under wraps. The problem, as shown by him leading the team in tackles, is that Alabama is worst in the SEC in tackle rate (80%), so he will also be needed to help stop the run.
Matchup to Watch: Ty Simpson, Germie Bernard, Ryan Williams, and the Alabama passing attack versus Vanderbilt’s secondary and pass rush.
Interesting Fact: Alabama, unofficially, has the highest felonies related to a loss per loss ratio in college football since 2010. The meme about “If I had a nickel for every time X happens, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice,” does not quite apply here since there have actually been three loss-related felonies.
If Alabama wins, we: are still 5-1. Vegas had this season’s O/U win total at 4.5 for most of the offseason. It jumped to 5.5 just before the season kicked off. Still, the fact that Vanderbilt is ranked #16 after 5 straight 20+ point victories, including breaking the 16-year losing streak to South Carolina. Panicking now would be silly. Unless this is a 30+-point beatdown, all of this team’s goals (yes, THAT one, too) are still on the table.
