The past holds the key for the Alabama Crimson Tide to finally get their revenge on Vanderbilt following the 2024 disaster

The Alabama Crimson Tide heads into a revenge matchup against Vanderbilt. There are a couple keys to this game to watch.

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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Sep 6, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer paces the sidelines during the third quarter against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images

After an ugly loss to the Florida State Seminoles to begin the season, the Alabama Crimson Tide have gotten back on track lately, and is beginning to look like the championship contender most believed they were heading into the 2025 college football season. Head coach Kalen DeBoer no longer has people calling for his job, at least for now, and optimism is growing around the future of the program. 

The biggest blemish during the first year under DeBoer for the Crimson Tide was their 40 to 35 loss to Vanderbilt last season. The Commodores had been a bottom dweller of the SEC historically, yet they were able to upset Alabama and make a statement in their home stadium. There has been revenge on the minds for the Crimson Tide program because of that loss. They get that revenge opportunity in Tuscaloosa, and two things are on the line.

  1. Alabama dominates and showcases that the Vanderbilt upset was nothing more than a fluke. You continue to build momentum and keep charging toward an SEC championship.
  2. You lose again to the Commondores, and the hot seat talk for Coach DeBoer begins again. That type of loss would be hard for DeBoer to come back from.

Heading into the game this weekend, Alabama is the massive favorite against Vanderbilt at -10.5 points. Clearly, people feel like last season was a bit of an aberration, and it will become nothing more than a blip on the radar in the end. Perhaps those people are correct, but this Crimson Tide team can’t just come into this contest believing that they will run away with it just off pure talent. No, Alabama must learn from its past failure.

There are two keys for Alabama to make sure that they take care of business this weekend. They failed to do both in last year’s battle.

Win the 3rd down battle 

The biggest difference in the football game between Vanderbilt last year was Alabama’s ability to get the Commodore offense off the field. Led by quarterback Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt managed to convert on 12 of 18 third down attempts, winning the time of possession battle by a wide margin. In the end, the Crimson Tide defense wasn’t able to get off the field. The Commodores didn’t create a bunch of chunk plays. They just kept making winning plays in the biggest moments.

Perhaps the weirdest part of last year’s battle was that Alabama wasn’t pressed into making a bunch of third down plays, converting on 3 of 6 attempts. They consistently moved the football, but they just didn’t get the football enough. It almost felt like a battle against a triple option team, having limited opportunities for the offense to stay on the field.

Control the pace of the football game

Outside of getting the Alabama offense off the field, they must also control the pace of the offense as well. Vanderbilt was able to rush for 166 yards in last year’s game. While they averaged just 3.1 yards per carry as a team, their ability to convert short yardage opportunities was fantastic. That allowed the Commodores to stay on the field and completely control the pace of the football game.

On the other side, the Crimson Tide offense last year ran for just 84 yards on 21 carries as a team. They have also been an inconsistent running team early in the 2025 season, rushing for just 117 yards and 3.1 yards per carry a week ago against Georgia. The hope is that with the return of Jam Miller, that area will improve, but he got off to a slower start against the Bulldogs as well, with just 46 yards on 16 carries. The hope is that, along with Kevin Riley, the rushing attack can improve quickly.

The ability to outrush won’t necessarily tell the story of this football game. It is merely an example of controlling the pace in your favor. Whether Alabama prioritizes the running game or rides the momentum of quarterback Ty Simpson and his right arm, this game will depend on whether the offense can control this football game and keep Pavia and the Vanderbilt offense off the field.

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