Vanderbilt 40, Alabama 35
When: 4:15 PM ET, Saturday, October 5, 2024
Where: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Temperature:
85°
Head Official:
Lee Hendrick
Attendance:
28934
By Field Level Media
Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns as the Commodores shocked top-ranked Alabama, 40-35, at First Bank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday.
Pavia connected on 16 of 20 throws, with six going to tight end Eli Stowers for 113 yards.
Vanderbilt, a 23 1/2-point underdog in its own building -- one populated mostly by Alabama fans -- jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the game's first 7:57 and never trailed.
Pavia's fourth-quarter touchdown throw to Kamrean Johnson provided what proved to be the winning points.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe started the second-half scoring with a 14-yard touchdown scamper over left tackle, cutting Vanderbilt's lead to 23-21.
But with the Commodores (3-2, 1-1 SEC) facing fourth and a half-yard on the Alabama 35, Pavia hit a wide-open Junior Sherrill for a touchdown to answer.
On third-and-7 from the Alabama 42, Milroe hit a closely contested Ryan Williams along the left sideline at the Vanderbilt 18 and coasted into the end zone for a score, cutting the lead to 30-28.
Vanderbilt's Brock Taylor answered with a 33-yard field goal with 10:35 left.
Alabama (4-1, 1-1) passed midfield quickly on its next trip, but Miles Capers blasted Milroe in the backfield and Yilanan Ouattara fell on the subsequent fumble at the Vanderbilt 47.
With a little more than five minutes left, Pavia faked a handoff, rolled out and hit an open Johnson in the flat for a 6-yard touchdown for a 40-28 advantage.
Alabama answered on Williams' 2-yard end-around score on a fourth-and-1 with 2:46 to play to pull within five. The Tide had all three timeouts, leaving Vanderbilt with the challenge of moving the chains.
But Pavia hit Sedrick Alexander with a 19-yard dump-off just before the two-minute warning, and then Alexander scooted left for another first down on the next snap. A Pavia keeper for another first down sealed the upset.
Vanderbilt held the ball for 21:28 and outgained Alabama, 186-157, in building a 23-14 halftime lead.
The Commodores scored on their first drive on Alexander's 7-yard run.
Three plays later, Vanderbilt's De'Rickey Wright tipped Milroe's pass, Randon Fontenette grabbed it and won a race to the left pylon for a 29-yard interception return touchdown.
After Vanderbilt's Brock Taylor missed the point-after, Alabama countered with Jam Miller's 8-yard scoring run.
The Crimson Tide then forced a punt, but that got nullified with a duplicate number penalty that awarded Vanderbilt a first down at the ‘Tide 47.
On the drive's 17th play -- one aided by a pair of Alabama personal fouls -- Alexander added a 1-yard scoring run to take a 20-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Receiving
| Alabama |
|
Vanderbilt |
|
Ryan Williams
|
Player |
Eli Stowers
|
|
3 |
Receptions |
6 |
|
82 |
Yards |
113 |
|
27.3 |
Avg Yards |
18.8 |
|
1 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
|
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
| |
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
| Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
| Alabama
|
394 |
84 |
310 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
| Vanderbilt
|
418 |
166 |
252 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2.0 |
1 |
For more information, contact us