The biggest upset of the weekend was the Vanderbilt Commodores stunning the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama took over the top spot in the poll after they topped Georgia in Week 5. However, that top ranking is going away after a stunning loss to Vanderbilt. The Commodores scored 17 second-half points and held tightly to a halftime lead to get the 40-35 win over Kalen DeBoer’s team. Diego Pavia, the New Mexico State transfer, threw for 252 yards with a pair of scores and no interceptions to lead Vandy to a massive upset. Pavia also rushed for 57 yards on 19 attempts.
After the huge upset win, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea spoke about the feeling of getting the victory. “There’s no better feeling than hugging strangers on the way off the field, telling them you love them,” Lea said in an interview with the SEC Network. “We were able to do that tonight.”
We have belief in who we are, we also know we have to show up and play the right way,” Lea continued. “Tonight we did and we were rewarded for that.”
Vanderbilt entered the game as a massive underdog against an Alabama team that was fresh off a win over then-higher-ranked Georgia. Lea has been the Vanderbilt head coach since 2021, but the Commodores have a pair of 2-10 records since, including in 2023. To make the win even sweeter, Vanderbilt was coming off back-to-back losses against Georgia State and Missouri, both by single digits.
