Vanderbilt talked throughout the week. There was a confidence emanating from Nashville that last year’s 40-35 win over Alabama was only the prelude to this year’s clash. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia practiced taking a knee during pregame warmups on Saturday.
So, when Jam Miller had a chance to take a knee after picking up the game-sealing first down on a fourth-and-2 run with 24 seconds remaining, he didn’t. He kept running. Vandy, helpless to stop the clock had Miller just gone down, watched as Miller strolled into the endzone to give Alabama a 30-14 win.
The 10th-ranked Tide (4-1, 2-0 SEC) took punches from the 16th-ranked Commodores (5-1, 1-1) early, but they had answers every time. In the end, it was a pair of red zone blunders from Pavia that led to Vandy’s first loss of the season.
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was picked off on Alabama’s opening drive. Pavia drove the ‘Dores 93 yards in 6 plays on the ensuing possession to go up 7-0. Alabama then missed a field goal on its next drive and Vandy took over at its 28 with a chance to go up 2 scores on the road.
A fumble from Pavia at the Alabama 13 flipped the game. Justin Jefferson punched the ball loose, Alabama’s offense took over, and drove right down the field to tie the game at 7-7.
Vandy took a 14-7 lead with 1:33 to play in the first half on a 4-yard reception from Sedrick Alexander, but those were the final points the ‘Dores would score.
Alabama drove right down the field in 71 seconds to tie the game going into the half. The Tide then blanked the ‘Dores in the second half, outscoring them 16-0, to win going away.
Alabama held Vandy to 109 yards of total offense over the final 30 minutes of the game. Vanderbilt averaged just 3.9 yards per play in the second half. And Alabama did to Vanderbilt in the second half what Vanderbilt did to Alabama in Nashville last season — the Tide sat on the ball.
Though they didn’t end in the endzone, Alabama killed nearly 15 minutes of game clock across the end of the third and the start of the fourth quarters with 2 drives. The first possession was an 11-play, 5:56 drive that put the Tide up 20-14 with a little over a minute remaining in the third.
Pavia’s second critical error came on the next drive. Vandy marched to the Alabama 17, but Pavia was picked off by Keon Sabb. Alabama took possession of the ball with 12:37 to play in the fourth and didn’t give it back to Vandy until there was just 4:08 on the clock.
Vandy never made it past midfield the rest of the game.
The Commodores have a bye before hosting LSU on Oct. 18.
Alabama travels to Mizzou next Saturday to face the unbeaten Tigers.
Alabama 30, Vanderbilt 14
Here’s the Alabama-Vanderbilt box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Ty Simpson vs Diego Pavia
Alabama QB Ty Simpson and Vandy counterpart Diego Pavia entered their Week 6 showdown in the top 10 in Heisman odds. Here’s a statistical look at how the Heisman contenders fared Saturday:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
