No. 10 Alabama avenges loss from a season ago with 30-14 win over No. 16 Vanderbilt

Butch Dill via Getty Images

Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia turned the ball over twice inside Alabama’s 20-yard line as the No. 16 Commodores failed to get back-to-back wins over the Crimson Tide in a 30-14 defeat.

Vanderbilt had the chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter after Alabama kicked a field goal to go up 20-14 in the third. But a play after Pavia hit Cole Spence for a 33-yard gain to the Alabama 17-yard line, Pavia was intercepted by Alabama’s Keon Sabb.

Alabama put the game away on its next drive as the Tide chewed up over eight minutes running the ball over and over through the Vanderbilt defense. Offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor even got in on the fun, lining up in the backfield for a 2-yard third-down conversion a week after motioning out wide and catching a pass in the Crimson Tide’s win over Georgia.

Proctor’s run helped set up a 30-yard field goal by Conor Talty with 4:08 to go that extended Alabama’s lead to two scores.

Pavia entered Saturday’s game supremely confident after Vanderbilt’s 5-0 start and the team’s 40-35 upset of Alabama a season ago. That confidence showed in pregame warmups, as Pavia practiced taking a knee after getting a snap.

The Commodores weren’t overwhelmed by the Tide at the start, either. RB Sedrick Alexander broke a 65-yard run in the first quarter to give Vanderbilt a 7-0 lead. And after Alabama missed a field goal on its opening drive, Vanderbilt and Pavia had a chance to put the Tide on the ropes.

Instead, Pavia fumbled on a run to the Alabama 8-yard line. What could have been a 14-0 Vanderbilt lead became a 7-7 tie after the Tide went on a 92-yard TD drive that ended with a TD pass from Ty Simpson to Ryan Williams.

Vanderbilt’s upset a season ago came as the Commodores held onto the ball as long as they could. Alabama had the ball for fewer than 18 minutes. Saturday, it was the Tide’s turn to play keep away. Alabama ran nearly 20 more plays than the Commodores did and had the ball for over 36 minutes. The Tide’s run game wasn’t incredibly effective — Alabama averaged just 3.5 yards a carry — but that game-clinching 16-play drive included 10 rushing attempts.