Alabama Exacts Revenge on Vanderbilt, Improves to 4-1

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama Crimson Tide had revenge on its mind, welcoming in the Vanderbilt Commodores for the first time after Vanderbilt shockingly upset the Crimson Tide 40-35 last year in Nashville.

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It was Alabama's first of three revenge opportunities this season. How would the Crimson Tide respond to adversity? Could Diego Pavia lead the Commodores to a second-straight win over Alabama?

1ST QUARTER

Vanderbilt couldn't have asked for a better start to the ball game after the first two drives. Alabama was able to move the ball effectively, but Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson ended his streak of games with no turnovers, throwing a ball late to Josh Cuevas on fourth down, and Vanderbilt cornerback Martel Hight picked the ball off.

Vanderbilt turned around and put together a great opening drive for the Commodore offense, going 64 yards in six plays, taking 1:59 off the clock thanks to a 65-yard touchdown run by Sedrick Alexander. The Crimson Tide looked up and saw yet another early deficit to Vanderbilt.

Alabama moves the ball downfield again, largely behind the legs of Jam Miller, who looked refreshed and ready after missing the first month of the season and making his first appearance against Georgia last week. Miller ended the first quarter with 69 rushing yards. Even still, Alabama couldn't capitalize on another drive that ended in Vanderbilt territory, with Conor Talty missing the 47-yard field goal.

2ND QUARTER

Alabama started its third drive during the first quarter and moved down the field pretty effectively. A couple of big plays from Jam Miller, a third-down conversion from Germie Bernard, and a fourth-down conversion by Josh Cuevas set Alabama up with 14 yards to go to tie the game.

After the opening drive interception, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson looked to be rattled a bit, but he shook those nerves in the redzone, faking a pitch to Jam Miller before stopping on a dime and breaking the ankles of a Vandy defender, then he rifled the ball to Ryan Williams in the back of the end zone as Alabama tied the game. On the next drive, Alabama's defense forced a three-and-out and gave the Crimson Tide offense back the ball.

After the three-and-out, Wilkin Formby immediately gave up a sack on Ty Simpson with the Crimson Tide backed up deep, and it would lead to a three-and-out. Vanderbilt then chewed almost the rest of the quarter en route to a touchdown, giving the Commodores a chance to double-up at halftime by getting the ball back after halftime. Diego Pavia completed a four-yard shovel pass to Sedrick Alexander, his second of the day, as the Commodores ate 4:23 off the clock.

Alabama had 1:33 to try and tie before Vanderbilt got the ball after halftime.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was, once again, surgical for the Crimson Tide on a much-needed two-minute drive. In six plays, he led Alabama 78 yards down the field in 1:11, capping the drive with a 27-yard touchdown to Germie Bernard to tie the game for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama would go into halftime with two different goals. Offense needed to continue the strong momentum it has, while the defense needed to tighten up and figure out how to stop Pavia and the Commodores.

Halftiem Score:
Alabama - 14
Vanderbilt - 14

3RD QUARTER

Alabama's defense held Vanderbilt to a three-and-out on the Commodores' opening drive of the second half, and the Crimson Tide had a chance to take its first lead of the game. On the drive, tight end Josh Cuevas went vertical and picked up a first down for the Crimson Tide, and Ty Simpson found Ryan Williams deep downfield to put Alabama on Vanderbilt's side of the field. A rough third-down call from Ryan Grubb put wide receiver Germie Bernard in as a wildcat quarterback, and while the play went nowhere, Conor Talty was able to make a 38-yard field goal to give Alabama its first lead of the game.

Alabama's defense did another good job slowing down Vanderbilt's offense on the next drive, forcing yet another three-and-out and allowing the Crimson Tide's offense to try and extend its lead.

On offense, Alabama continued to struggle inside the red zone today, with the offensive line falling apart, allowing Ty Simpson to get sacked and not holding up in protection enough for him to find a receiver downfield. Alabama had to settle for another three points, and the Tide had a six-point lead over Vanderbilt heading into the fourth quarter.

4TH QUARTER

A fourth-quarter turnover put this game in the rearview mirror for Alabama, with veteran safety Keon Sabb intercepting Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and allowing Alabama's offense to put some distance between itself and Vanderbilt.

Alabama finished the game with punctuation marks, securing three points on a Conor Talty field goal and covering the 10.5-point spread thanks to a 20-yard touchdown from Jam Miller.

Alabama finally got its revenge on Vanderbilt, 30-14.

Alabama Stat Leaders

Passing: Ty Simpson - 23-31, 340 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jam Miller - 22 carries, 136 yards, 1 TD
Receiving: Ryan Williams - 6 catches, 98 yards, 1 TD
Defensive: Justin Jefferson - 14 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble.

Alabama improves to 4-1 on the season and now has two ranked wins. The Crimson Tide will head to Columbia, Missouri, next week for a matchup with the 19th-ranked Missouri Tigers.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.