Kalen DeBoer warns Vanderbilt is ‘underrated’ entering Week 11 matchup
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The Alabama Crimson Tide are moving full steam ahead toward the College Football Playoff. Kalen DeBoer‘s team need only beat Vanderbilt, Chattanooga and Auburn to lock up a potential CFP bye and SEC Championship bid. Alabama’s head coach knows the games aren’t played on paper, though.
On Wednesday, DeBoer gave massive respect to the Commodores, this weekend’s Crimson Tide opponent. He believes Clark Lea‘s squad’s record is incredibly deceptive and knows what can happen if Alabama rolls into Nashville thinking it has already won the game merely by being there.
“People are truly underestimating [Vanderbilt],” DeBoer said. “If you look at scores throughout the course of their games… these games are tight against some really good football teams. We got to be ready. We know what it’s like going there. We’ve been there once before, at least with our staff and this team. It didn’t go so well.”
The Crimson Tide missed the playoffs in 2024 after losing to Vandy 40-35. The defeat came after a massive 41-34 victory over Georgia in DeBoer’s first-ever SEC contest. This year’s matchup follows a huge win at LSU. Alabama fans are hopeful DeBoer is using the lessons from his last trip to ensure nothing funky happens on Saturday (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
