Why did Alabama lose to Georgia? Not the end of the world.
Everyone goes through it.Having Michigan beat you in the College Football Playoff? You did great, so raise your hat and keep going.
Not do well against Auburn? It was rough, but those guys on the other side also had recruiting stars next to their names.
Why did Alabama lose to Vanderbilt? It is even worse that No. 1 Alabama lost to Vanderbilt.
That is just as crazy as Alabama losing to Vanderbilt.
As I try to make sense of it all, here are five things I learned and things I thought about after a win that both schools will always remember.
Vanderbilt 40, Alabama 35
5. Kalen DeBoer, you get one of these … sort of
After last week’s exciting win over Georgia, the bar was raised for DeBoer. No one really thought he would become Nick Saban right away.
If Ohio State was not No. 1, Alabama should have been. They had all the pieces to do something great, and at the very least, they looked like they would make the College Football Playoff.
Now?
To the end of time, this game will be remembered as a bad spot on the DeBoer era. That is how things work.
In his short time as an FBS head coach, DeBoer has won 80% of his games, but… but…
“Remember when Alabama lost to Vanderbilt?”
It will all be funny if and when the Tide keep going and win the national title, but this will still stick out.
4. Seriously, how historic was Vanderbilt’s win over Alabama?
Nick Saban lost to Louisiana-Monroe in his first season as coach. He did okay after that. They only lost to a team that did not have a good record once during his time as coach.
When was the last time Alabama lost to a team that had a poor record?
Before Saban took over in 2006, Mississippi State beat Alabama 24–16.
Alabama was 63-18-4 all-time in the series, which means they won 77% of the times. Vanderbilt won the first game 30-0 to start the 1903 season.
The last time the Tide lost to the Commodores was 30–21 in 1984. Since 1969, the Tide had won 37 straight games against them.
Yes, this is a big deal.
3. Diego Pavia now walks among the legendary SEC gods
His story sounds like something out of a fairy tale now.
Diego Pavia did not get any big offers after high school. He went to a junior college and played great basketball there. He then went to New Mexico State and helped turn that bad team into a winner by playing great basketball there.
He then went to Vanderbilt and played great basketball in their season-opening win over Virginia Tech, in close games against Missouri and Georgia State, and…
16-20 for 252 yards and two scores with no interceptions and 20 carries for 56 yards.
No matter what else he does as a player, Diego Manziel – uh – Pavia will be remembered as a true SEC hero for this one play, but…
2. Alabama, it’s just fine … maybe
In the last six quarters, Alabama has given up 74 points.
2011: In 13 games, Alabama gave up 106 points. 1979: In 12 games, Alabama gave up 67 points.
The 21 runs against Vanderbilt were the fewest by an Alabama team since early 2013 when they beat Colorado State 31-6. That is just bad coaching.
Vanderbilt missed 12 out of 18 third downs and had the ball for over 42 mutes, so… work needs to be done.
Remember that it took a big second half to beat USF, that the defence blew up in the second half against Georgia, and…
As long as there are not any more meltdown loses, it is still fine.
The attack is still very good. Jalen Milroe was great, but he was not perfect. Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma are on the road, and Missouri, South Carolina, and Auburn are at home. This means that the defence needs to be a lot better.
But if you already have enough problems to lose to…
1. Vanderbilt … let’s go. Get to a bowl game
The Texas Bowl in 2018. Vanderbilt’s last bowl game was against Baylor, which they lost 45–38. The last bowl win was in the 2013 season, in the BBVA Compass Bowl against Houston.
Bowl games? The Crimson Tide has been to 71 games. Nine.
With the win over Virginia Tech, the loss to Georgia State, and now this, it is been a strange season. But with Ball State still playable, there is a real chance to get to six wins and a bowl game.
If you can beat No. 1 Alabama, you might also be able to beat South Carolina, win at Auburn, and get to six wins. But the Commodores need three more wins against Kentucky, Ball State, Texas, Auburn, South Carolina, LSU, and Tennessee.
And if not. Vanderbilt wins 40–35 over Alabama. Okay, that is fine.
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