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Vanderbilt Football (4-5, 1-5 SEC) was back in action on Saturday, Nov. 4, to take on Alabama (7-2, 5-2 SEC) at FirstBank Stadium. The Commodores couldn’t extend their win streak to two, as the Crimson Tide washed them away 21-6 in a slightly closer battle than anticipated.
Under clear skies and a temperature just under 50 degrees, the Black and Gold took the field to much applause from the home crowd, though Alabama had a significant fanbase traveling on the road to support it.
The ’Dores were fresh off a road win over Mississippi State where they secured their first conference victory of the season. The Tide, similarly, were looking to keep their momentum rolling after defeating LSU — and likely knocking the Tigers out of College Football Playoff contention.
Alabama entered the game as a heavy favorite (-15.5, 94.7% chance to win according to ESPN Analytics), but Vanderbilt had its sights set on an upset, looking to make history against the Crimson Tide for a second time in three years.
The Commodores couldn’t do so, though, as they were outgained 309 to 235 in total yards and 92 to 12 in rushing yards. Head coach Clark Lea’s squad committed 14 penalties that resulted in 92 yards, and they went just 2-for-15 on third downs — and 1-for-4 on fourth downs. Lea was somewhat proud of the team’s defensive performance, though.
“Obviously, there were moments defensively where we played well enough,” Lea said. “The two turnovers that created field position were big. We just weren’t able to capitalize offensively and just felt like a mess on offense today. The penalties again; it feels like we took a step back there.”
Alabama won the coin toss and elected to defer, as Junior Sherrill stood on the goal line and watched the ball sail over his head for a touchback. Sedrick Alexander opened up the contest with a solid carry for 8 yards, then another on the next play for a 5-yard gain. Tristen Brown caught an 8-yard pass outside the hash marks from Jared Curtis, and Curtis found MK Young on the next play for another 5-yard gain. Curtis then used his legs to move past midfield for a 5-yard rush, as Vanderbilt’s offense was moving down the field with little resistance.
The Commodores’ momentum was slowed on the next two plays, as Young got tackled for a loss of 2 yards and Curtis couldn’t connect with Brown on the sideline, forcing a punt from Tyler Ebel. Bryan Longwell downed the punt at Alabama’s 14-yard line, and Daniel Hill got the Tide started with a 2-yard run. Trae’shawn Brown couldn’t pick up any yardage on his carry, and Keelon Russell’s completion to Ryan Coleman-Williams over the middle came up just short of the line to gain. Alex Asparuhov punted away to Martel Hight, who called for a fair catch at the Vanderbilt 33-yard line.
The ’Dores’ next drive fizzled out quickly, with an incomplete pass from Curtis to Sherrill, a 3-yard rush by Alexander and another incomplete pass — this time intended for Hight. Ebel’s punt got a very fortunate bounce and ended up at the 5-yard line, forcing Alabama to start its next drive deep in its own territory.
That didn’t matter for Russell, though, who hit Lotzeir Brooks and Coleman-Williams for 9- and 6-yard gains, respectively. Coleman-Williams nearly came down with a catch that would’ve gained 50-plus yards, but Ricardo Jones was able to break it up and force a second-and-10. Russell found Rico Scott on a pass that went backward 5 yards, and a 7-yard completion to Kaleb Edwards forced another punt from Asparuhov.
The Commodores started their next drive at their own 35-yard line, but a false start on Gunner Givens pushed them back to the 30-yard line. Curtis hit Jayvontay Conner for a quick 4-yard completion before Alexander gained 4 more himself on the ground. On third-and-7, Curtis nearly hit Brown on a deep shot, but it was broken up by Ivan Taylor, and Ebel was out for his third time today.
Coleman-Williams got Alabama rolling with a 3-yard gain on a short pass before Brown lost 2 yards on an outside carry. Russell finally got it going with a 27-yard completion to Scott and an 11-yard completion to Noah Rogers on the next play, moving the Tide into Vanderbilt territory. Russell got flagged for a delay-of-game penalty, and a pass to Brooks went backwards once again for a 4-yard loss. On second-and-19, Scott rushed for a gain of 3 yards before Brooks picked up 9 more through the air, bringing up fourth down and the end of the first quarter.
Asparuhov sent away his fourth punt of the day and successfully pinned the ’Dores on their own 6-yard line. Young lost a yard, then gained it back, but Clinton Azubuike pushed Vanderbilt further toward its own end zone with a false start. Curtis ripped a pass to the outside that went right through Cole Spence’s hands, forcing Lea to bring out Ebel for a dangerous punt inside his own end zone. Somehow, though, he sent it 60 yards through the air to Coleman-Williams at Alabama’s own 38-yard line.
The Tide started their drive nicely, with a 3-yard rush from Brown and a 15-yard completion to Coleman-Williams, who just barely got his feet in bounds. EJ Crowell picked up just 4 yards on 2 carries to start this set of downs, and an offsides call on Miles Capers led to third-and-1 for Russell and the Alabama offense. Coleman-Williams couldn’t reach the line to gain, and Russell slipped in the backfield on fourth down, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Beginning the drive already in enemy territory, Vanderbilt was looking to get points on the board — and quickly. Alexander’s 13-yard rush was called back due to a holding penalty on Maurice Veney, and Sherrill only picked up 2 yards on a screen to the right sideline. Spence dropped another pass from Curtis, and on third-and-14, a near-interception went through the hands of Alabama’s Luke Metz. Ebel continued his punting masterclass with a kick that rolled out of bounds at the Tide’s 2-yard line.
Russell threw the ball away on first down due to facing pressure in his own end zone, but Hill ran straight up the middle for an 11-yard gain and a fresh set of downs on the next play. Vanderbilt’s defensive line pressured Russell quickly, but he was able to escape and throw the ball away before having his pass tipped at the line on second down. Facing a third-and-10, he delivered a strike to the left sideline to Coleman-Williams for the duo’s fifth connection of the game.
On the next play, Dontae Carter came down with an interception in the backfield after tipping Russell’s pass himself. With the ball just inside the red zone, the Commodores were starting their drive in prime scoring position once more. Veney was called for another false start, and Curtis was taken down behind the line of scrimmage for a 3-yard loss. Already in bad shape with a second-and-18, Hight was tackled for yet another loss, and Curtis was sacked on the next play. Fortunately for the Commodore Faithful, Brock Taylor’s leg strength overcame the lost yardage, and he connected on a 52-yard field goal for the first points of the contest.
Vanderbilt defensive back Cayden Daniels was called for pass interference on Coleman-Williams, moving Alabama’s offense 14 yards downfield. Hill lost 4 yards and coughed up the football but was able to recover it, and he followed it up with two big gains up the middle for 20 and 13 yards, respectively. Russell picked up 6 yards with his legs as the game reached the two-minute timeout.
Russell found Scott for a 3-yard completion, and Hill moved the chains with a 3-yard rush on third down. Hill rushed for just a yard on each of his next two attempts, but Russell’ escapism in the pocket and a holding call on Daniels automatically moved the sticks for the Tide. With 12 seconds to play, Russell fired a pass to tight end Marshall Pritchett to take the lead, 7-3.
Curtis kneeled on Vanderbilt’s only offensive snap after 4 seconds ran off the clock on a squib kickoff. Both teams entered the locker room hoping to put more points on the board in the second half, as 10 total points was an unpredicted total through 30 minutes of action.
Alabama had possession to start the half, and Hill churned out 10 yards on the first play out of the break. Russell hit Danny Lewis Jr. for his first catch of the game, which went for 13 yards, before finding Coleman-Williams for 12 more on the next play. Hill picked up just a yard on his next carry before Russell barely missed Coleman-Williams on a potential big gain. Brooks was wide open on a busted coverage and caught a 39-yard touchdown down the right sideline to extend the Tide’s lead to 14-3.
The Commodores’ drive started with a couple of short rushes from Young and a 13-yard completion from Curtis to Brown outside the numbers. Curtis hit Sherrill over the middle to pick up 19 more yards, but 5 of those came back after a false start by Mitchell Smith. A 3-yard rush by Alexander and an incomplete pass — along with yet another false start, this time on wide receiver Ja’Cory Thomas — set Vanderbilt up with a third-and-17. Thomas redeemed himself with a 6-yard catch before a 57-yard field goal attempt from Taylor was good, setting the score at 14-6 in favor of Alabama.
Rogers took the kickoff back 83 yards to the Vanderbilt 12-yard line, but an incomplete pass and a holding penalty on Michael Carroll brought the Tide just outside the red zone. Russell completed a pass to Coleman-Williams over the middle for 12 yards before hitting Brooks in the back of the end zone for his second touchdown of the day. Alabama extended its lead yet again, now up 21-6 on the Black and Gold.
Young picked up 6 yards on his first carry of the drive before Curtis was sacked for a 2-yard loss, and Vanderbilt was called for its sixth false start of the game. Curtis was sacked again on third down, and Ebel punted for his sixth time in the contest — this time sending it 60 yards before an 18-yard return from Coleman-Williams.
The Tide’s next drive started with Brooks dropping a potential big gain despite having no Vanderbilt defenders within 5 yards of him. Brown gained just a yard on second down, and Russell’s pass on the next play was incomplete, intended for Cederian Morgan. Asparuhov’s punt went 43 yards before a fair catch by Hight at the Black and Gold’s 18-yard line.
Curtis started this drive with a big completion over the middle to Conner for a 19-yard gain. He quickly got his offense to the line of scrimmage and delivered a missile to Sherrill down the right sideline for 43 more yards, moving quickly into the red zone. A series of short completions to Alexander went for 7 yards and got Vanderbilt down to the 12-yard line. On fourth-and-3 after a run for no gain, Curtis threw a pass intended for Sherrill, but it fell incomplete, and the Tide regained possession.
Alabama got going with a 9-yard completion from Russell to Edwards and a 6-yard rush by Hill, but Russell was sacked on the next play for a loss of 3 yards. His attempt for Hill went incomplete, and Capers got to him quickly on a scramble to force a fourth down as the third quarter came to a close.
Starting the drive at their own 37-yard line, the Commodores used a pair of completions — a 5-yard one to Alexander and a 10-yard one to Walter Taylor — to move the chains. The offense kept rolling with a 3-yard pass from Curtis to Alexander and another to Sherrill for 13 yards. The seventh false start of the game on Vanderbilt was called, and after a short gain by Cole Adams, Curtis was sacked for the fourth time of the game to bring up third-and-21. Curtis completed a pass to Brown for 12 yards, and Taylor’s 50-yard field goal attempt came up considerably short.
Alabama got the ball back on its own 31-yard line, and Russell picked up 8 yards on the ground before hitting Scott for an 8-yard gain through the air. With a fresh set of downs, Russell picked up 9 yards on a strike to Lewis before losing a yard on his own rushing attempt. Hill continued to work Vanderbilt’s defense, breaking through the first set of tacklers for a 12-yard gain on third down. A sequence of a stifled run, an incomplete pass and a false start set Alabama up with a third-and-14.
And on that play, Capers hit Russell hard on a blindside blitz, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Talan Carter and returned 21 yards to the Alabama 42-yard line. After facing pressure quickly, Curtis threw the football out of bounds on both first and second down. He was able to hit Brycen Coleman for a 9-yard gain before finding Sherrill for 7 more yards on fourth down.
Curtis targeted Sherrill on both of the next two plays, completing just one of them for 4 yards ahead of a crucial third-and-6. Curtis took it himself up the middle for 6 yards to move the chains and just barely overthrew Thomas on a potential touchdown on the next play. He used his legs to gain another 11 yards after an impressive juke, but Smith was called for holding, and the Commodores were pushed back to the 25-yard line.
Brown caught a 4-yard pass outside the numbers from Curtis before Sherrill one-upped him with an 11-yard reception. On fourth-and-5, Curtis overthrew Sherrill in the end zone, sending possession back to the Tide with just under four minutes left to play.
A pair of runs by Hill, interspersed with a run from Brown, forced a quick three-and-out for Alabama and a punt from Asparuhov. Thomas was called for holding on a completion from Curtis to Brown, but Curtis made up for it with a bullet over the middle to Spence for 12 yards, bringing the game to the two-minute timeout.
Curtis threw it to Young for 2 yards before missing him on the next play and setting up fourth-and-5. To add insult to injury for Vanderbilt fans, Sherrill limped off the field with help from the training staff. Curtis was called for intentional grounding after barely escaping a sack, and this game was over after a trio of kneels from backup quarterback Austin Mack.
“I felt like we made progress in eliminating [the penalties],” Lea said. “It really robbed us of a chance to put pressure on Alabama, and credit to them because that’s a good team. They’re well coached, and they played the game to win the game today.”
Russell finished with 217 yards through the air and a hat trick of passing touchdowns, while Hill rushed for 89 yards on 14 carries — good for an average of 6.4 yards per carry. Curtis threw the ball 40 times for the ’Dores, completing 25 of them for 223 yards. Sherrill led the receiving corps with 7 catches for 100 yards — his third time hitting the century mark this season.
Vanderbilt will look to recoup its loss next Saturday, Nov. 21, at 11 a.m. CST in Gainesville, Florida, against the Gators.
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