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Vanderbilt's victory over Alabama is another unthinkable sports upset

Posted on by Vanessa
Vanderbilt's victory over Alabama is another unthinkable sports upset

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Welcome to Crazy, everyone. Unthinkable, unimaginable and as unreal as it gets, crazy.

Bigger than Buster Douglas and Broadway Joe and the Miracle on Ice. Bigger than North Carolina State because of Phi Slamma Jamma and Villanova did it – and every upset in the history of a sport.

Now if you don't believe in miracles, how else do you explain Vanderbilt 40, No. 2 Alabama 35?

How else to explain the SEC's annual tomato can, arguably the worst FBS/Division I team in the modern era of college football, beating the greatest team of the modern era – and not just beating it, but physically beating it ?

An Alabama team that defeated heavyweight rival Georgia seven days ago and immediately claimed its comfortable spot atop the college football world under new coach Kalen DeBoer.

And then I passed out – not unconscious, knocked out – from Vanderbilt. For the love of all things Saban, Vanderbilt!

“God gave me a vision when I was a little kid,” Vanderbilt's mighty Mouse quarterback Diego Pavia told the SEC Network moments after the most shocking upset since Lazarus. “Games like these change lives.”

How else do you explain it?

How else do you explain that Vanderbilt — which had lost all 60 games in program history to its top five opponents — scored its first 13 points, led by as many as 16 points and never trailed?

Never lag behind.

How else to explain a team that lost to Georgia State last month, took possession of the ball with nearly three minutes left and defended a precarious one-point lead against big, bad Alabama by throwing heavy shots to run out the clock bridge?

When the final drive came and Vanderbilt faced history, the decision didn't come down to three running plays and a punt. It was about grabbing the game by the gut and squeezing the life out of it.

Ups and downs: Alabama's upset results in wins and losses in Week 6

ANCHORING: Kalen DeBoer won't be able to handle the loss to Vanderbilt

Four first downs later, the Commodores conquered a field full of humanity in Nashville after defeating Alabama for the first time since 1984. Their little quarterback ran across the field like Jim Valvano, looking for someone, anyone, to hug.

“In many ways, he embodies the program we are building,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said.

The same program that faltered at the end of last season, finishing 2-10 and losing its last nine SEC games. In other words, same old Vandy.

So Lea decided to change the scope of his rebuild and hired former New Mexico State coach Jerry Kill as associate head coach/fixer. Kill brought offensive coordinator Tim Beck with him, and together they convinced Pavia — who led NMSU to 10 wins in 2023, including a win against Auburn — to play where no one succeeds.

And there they were, in a stadium full of Alabama fans buying Vanderbilt season tickets to get a seat for the game, experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime moment. They never batted an eyelid in this premiere game.

They won for the first time against a No. 1 team and scored 40 points against a top 5 team for the first time. In four games against former Alabama coach Nick Saban, Vanderbilt scored a total of 13 points.

The Commodores had 13 in the first quarter Saturday afternoon.

By the time the Vanderbilt fans stormed the field, Pavia had thrown for 252 yards and two touchdowns and had rushed for 56 yards on 20 hard, hard carries.

As he preached divine intervention, Pavia had surpassed star Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, who took control of the Heisman Trophy race a week ago.

But it wasn't just Pavia. This was a real victory for the blue team in a time when I was first doing NIL nonsense.

Eli Stowers, the former backup quarterback at Texas A&M who became a tight end at Vanderbilt, played like an All-American with six catches for 113 yards.

The Vanderbilt offensive line, a conference weakness for decades that relies on line-of-scrimmage success, didn't give up a single sack.

“It took everything we had,” Lea said.

Lea arrived at his alma mater as a coach in December 2020, when the world was in turmoil while also dealing with a global pandemic. He explained at the time, in a time of uncertainty on and off the field, that the goal at Vanderbilt was to win a national title.

The national pinball title. At Vanderbilt.

It was a completely absurd comment for a program that was not only among the worst in the sport, but also hadn't even committed to spending the money necessary to compete in its own conference.

But a soccer facility was built and stadium renovations began, and the next time I thought, Vanderbilt had lost its last nine league games and Lea could have easily been fired at the end of last season.

Then along came Kill, Beck and Pavia and everything changed.

The unthinkable, unbelievable and unreal happened.

“For us there is more than that,” said Lea. “This is not yet an end point. Let’s get some more.”

Welcome to Crazy, everyone. It's as unreal as it gets.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X @MattHayesCFB.

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