Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea was born in 1981. Three years later the Commodores defeated Alabama. They hadn’t done it again … until Saturday.
In the most stunning of upsets, the Commodores defeated No. 1 Alabama, 40-35, in SEC play.
This was the first loss as Alabama coach for Kalen Deboer and it was a stunner. The Crimson Tide came in 23.5-point favorites. They never led.
Alabama were 64-3 against unranked opponents. Vandy was 0-60 against top five foes. It was 0-10 against the No. 1 team in the country.
Alabama had beaten Vanderbilt 23 straight times. The last time the Commodores downed the Crimson Tide was Sept. 19, 1984. On that day, Vandy won, 30-21, in Tuscaloosa. That game was Alabama’s first homecoming loss in 26 years.
Vanderbilt had not won at home against Alabama since 1976.
Quarterback Diego Pavia, a transfer from New Mexico State, led the Commodores. He threw for 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also had 57 yards rushing.
This was the second straight year Pavia led an upset over an SEC team from Alabama. In 2023, he threw for 201 yards and three TDs as the Aggies ripped Auburn, 31-10.
“This is the dream right here,” Lea said. “For the next 12 hours I am going to enjoy the dream.”
Vanderbilt settled for a 33-28 lead early in the fourth quarter after it appeared the Commodores had gone up by two scores.
Pavia made a fantastic play, throwing a backward pass to Richie Hoskins, who ran into the end zone.
#Vanderbilt has a touchdown called back for what was supposed to be a hold here.
I don’t see it …#Alabama #CrimsonTide pic.twitter.com/a5zPZRHCh5— Hoody (@theshanehood27) October 5, 2024
However, a holding penalty was called and Vandy had to settle for a field goal.
On the next drive, Milroe was hit and fumbled. The football was recovered by Vanderbilt’s Yilanan Ouattara, an international prospect from Cologne, Germany.
Ouattara is 6-foot-7 and 311 pounds. He played for the Cologne Crocodiles in high school. His bio says he competed in swimming, tennis and crew.
Vanderbilt capitalized on the turnover when Pavia threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Kamrean Johnson and it led 40-28 with 5:07 left.
🗣️ SKINNER pic.twitter.com/iJc5ahU49U
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) October 5, 2024
On a fourth down play after a Vanderbilt timeout, Alabama handed the ball to teenage wideout Ryan Williams, who ran into the end zone. The PAT made the deficit 40-35.
That was the final offensive play for Alabama. Pavia and Vanderbilt ate up the final 2:21 with multiple first downs. The Crimson Tide was helpless to stop Vanderbilt as it was all game.
