Keelon Russell plays through injury, throws 3 TDs in Alabama’s win at Vanderbilt
By Andrew Olson
Published:
It wasn’t pretty, but Alabama managed to take care of business on the road with a 21-6 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Keelon Russell was expected to miss Saturday’s game due to an ankle injury suffered in the Week 10 win at LSU, but ended up giving a go on Saturday. While Russell was definitely limited, he was still effective, completing 22-of-33 passes for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception.
Keelon Russell with an absolute dime 🎯 https://t.co/iK0ViGONGk
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 14, 2026
The Alabama offense was slow to get going. Vanderbilt led 3-0 in the second quarter. Alabama grabbed its first lead just before the half when Russell hit Marshall Pritchett with 6 seconds remaining to get the Crimson Tide on the board. In the second half, Russell connected with Lotzeir Brooks for 2 more passing scores.
The Crimson Tide did its part by preventing any Vanderbilt touchdowns. UA outgained Vandy 309-235 yards of offense on the day. The Commodores finished with just 12 net rushing yards. Freshman quarterback Jarded Curtis needed 40 passing attempts for 25 completions to gain 223 yards. Curtis did not throw any touchdowns or interceptions.
Vanderbilt was just 2-of-15 on 3rd down and 1-of-4 on 4th down. The Alabama defense recorded 9 TFLs and 5 sacks on the day. The Commodores went 0-for-2 in the red zone, while Bama was 2-for-2.
Alabama improves to 8-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play with 2 regular-season contests remaining. The Commodores fall to 4-6 overall and 1-6 against SEC opponents.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
