Scott Van Pelt expects better Alabama vs. Vanderbilt: ‘The bear is coming for your ass’
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The highly anticipated matchup between No. 16 Vanderbilt and No. 10 Alabama has finally arrived, and there is a ton riding on the pivotal Week 6 tilt for both programs.
Both sides will be entering the contest ranked inside the AP Poll top 25 for the first time since all the way back in Thanksgiving of 1937. Now, history has finally come all the way back around to give us another ranked matchup between these 2 traditional SEC programs, and the beef between them is very real as well.
Vandy shocked Alabama last season. ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt believes that loss will serve to provide the Tide with a different energy on Saturday when they meet in Tuscaloosa.
“I feel like there will be a very different energy and focus on the Alabama squad and how they approach this game because you’ve earned their respect,” Van Pelt said this week on the SVPod. “What comes with that is a steeper hill to climb because they slept on you, but now they know… I think you poke the bear, you beat the bear, well then the bear is coming for your ass.”
Star Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia has been very vocal about how he believes his Commodores will perform on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, stating that the Commodores will beat the Tide with ease if they can stick to their game plan.
In years past, this type of tough talk ahead of a game against Alabama has normally spelled disaster for any team the Tide were facing, but this is a different Vanderbilt team.
The Commodores are up to 16th in the AP poll, their highest ranking since the 2008 season. The Tide certainly won’t be underestimating Pavia and the rest of the Commodores this time around, but whether or not that leads to a win is still very far from certain.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on ABC on Saturday. The Tide are a 10.5-point favorite, per BetMGM.
