Vandy upsets Bama for first win vs
NASHVILLE, Tenn.– Fans of the Vanderbilt Commodores danced onto the field, leaping up and down as they took apart a goalpost, brought it out of the arena and rang out sweet noises of victory.Then they carried the goalpost a number of miles and tossed it into the Cumberland River.Their school
‘s historical win over No. 1 Alabama was worthy of to be commemorated this way.Sedrick Alexander ran for 2 touchdowns, Randon Fontenette scored on a pick-six and Diego Pavia outplayed Heisman Trophy competitor Jalen Milroe as Vanderbilt stunned Alabama 40-35 on Saturday for the Commodores’first win over a top-ranked team.Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-1)was 0-60 all time versus AP top-five groups before Saturday, the longest such streak in the poll age (since 1936). The Commodores hadn’t beaten Alabama on the field in 40 years, however they snapped a 23-game skid by making huge play after huge play to give coach Clark Lea his alma mater’s most significant win ever.Editor’s Picks 1 Associated”This is the dream, right here,”Lea said.”And for the next 12 hours, I’m going to take pleasure in the dream. We have actually got more
ahead of us
, however this is what Vanderbilt football requires to be about: big wins on huge stages. We’re going to go get some more. “Alabama had simply moved to the top of the AP Top 25 after an emotional win over Georgia. The Crimson Tide opened as 22.5-point favorites over Vanderbilt at ESPN BET
; it was the very first time an AP No. 1 team lost as at least a three-touchdown favorite considering that 2008, when USC was up to Oregon State as a 25-point favorite.”We’re going to learn truly how much we care about each other and what it looks like moving on,”first-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We have actually been evaluated in different ways, truly, a lot of the games here this season, and this is a various kind of test now in our reaction.”Alexander capped the game’s opening drive with a 7-yard TD to put Vandy ahead to remain. It marked the first time because 2007 that Vandy had actually opened a game against Alabama with a TD, the last time being Nick Saban’s second game as
coach.The Tide(4-1, 1-1)assisted Vanderbilt pad that lead with too many mistakes, careless play and penalties.Alabama got within 30-28 with Milroe’s 58-yard scoring pass to Ryan Williams.The Commodores addressed with 10 points.Of their total, 13 points came off Milroe’s two turnovers, the second a strip sack by Miles Capers recuperated by Yilanan Ouattara at midfield. Pavia topped the drive with a 6-yard TD pass to Alabama native Kamrean Johnson with 5:07 left for a 40-28 lead.Year Winner Spread Opp.
’04 Miss. State +24 20 Florida’ 93 LSU +24 5
Alabama’ 14 Texas A&M +23.5 3 Auburn’20 LSU +23 6 Florida ’08 Ole Miss +23 4 Florida’ 01 Auburn +23 1 Florida’24 Vanderbilt +22.5 1 Alabama ’22 S. Carolina +22.5 5 Tenn. ’92 Arkansas +22.5 4 Tenn.– Because 1978 Milroe attempted to rally Alabama, with Williams scoring on an end around on
fourth-and-1 from 2 yards out with 2:46 left.Vanderbilt fans and players | ||||
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started celebrating as Pavia knelt down to go out the clock.”Games like this modification your | life,”Pavia said.Milroe had his 2nd pass of the game tipped into the air by | De’Rickey | Wright, who | devoted to Alabama |
and | wound up at Vanderbilt. | Fontenette grabbed the ball and ran | 24 backyards to the end zone and a | |
13-0 lead | at 8:03 | of the first quarter.Vanderbilt jumped out to | ||
a 23-7 lead | , just | the second | ||
time in the previous 10 seasons that a No. 1 group routed | an unranked opponent by 16 or more | points.Vanderbilt never tracked as the Commodores | played keep-away, holding the ball for simply over 42 minutes.Alabama had a 312-252 yardage advantage on offense
. It didn’t matter, with Vandy transforming 12-of-18 on third downs while wearing down the Tide’s defense.Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson said it’s early and everything remains in front of the Tide. “We never wish to feel this again,”Lawson said.The Associated Press and ESPN Research added to this story. |