Current:Home > MyVanderbilt takes down No. 1 Alabama 40-35 in historic college football victory -Mastery Money Tools
Vanderbilt takes down No. 1 Alabama 40-35 in historic college football victory
View
Date:2025-04-18 20:56:37
The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season!
Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sedrick Alexander ran for two touchdowns, Randon Fontenette scored on a pick-six and Diego Pavia outplayed Heisman Trophy candidate Jalen Milroe as Vanderbilt stunned Alabama 40-35 on Saturday for the Commodores’ first win over the nation’s top-ranked team.
Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) had lost all 60 games against AP top-five teams, according to SportRadar. The Commodores hadn’t beaten Alabama on the field in 40 years, but they snapped a 23-game skid making big play after big play to give coach Clark Lea his alma mater’s biggest win ever.
The Commodores scored the first 13 points and took a 16-point lead that was their largest ever over the No. 1 team in the country. Only Jam Miller running for his second TD just before halftime trimmed that to 23-14.
Alabama had just moved to the top of the AP Top 25 after an emotional win over Georgia.
Alexander capped the game’s opening drive with a 7-yard TD to put Vandy ahead to stay. It marked the first time since 2007 that Vandy had opened a game against Alabama with a TD — Nick Saban’s second game as coach.
The Tide (4-1, 1-1) helped Vanderbilt pad that lead with too many mistakes, sloppy play and penalties.
Alabama got within 30-28 with Milroe’s 58-yard TD pass to Ryan Williams.
Vanderbilt answered with 10 points. Of their total, 13 came off Milroe’s two turnovers, the second a strip sack by Miles Capers recovered by Yilanan Ouattara at midfield for Vanderbilt.
Pavia capped the drive with a 6-yard TD pass to Alabama native Kamrean Johnson with 5:07 left for a 40-28 lead. Milroe tried to rally Alabama, with Williams scoring on an end around on fourth-and-1 from 2 yards out with 2:46 left.
Vanderbilt fans and players started celebrating as Pavia knelt down to run out the clock.
Milroe had his second pass of the game tipped into the air by De’Rickey Wright, who committed to Alabama and wound up at Vanderbilt. Fontenette grabbed the ball and ran 24 yards to the end zone for the pick-six and a 13-0 lead at 8:03 of the first quarter.
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 23-7 lead, just the second time in the last 10 seasons that a No. 1 team trailed an unranked opponent by 16 or more points. Clemson trailed by 18 to Boston College in 2020 and won 30-28.
Alabama didn’t come back in this game.
Vanderbilt never trailed as the Commodores played keep-away, holding the ball for just over 42 minutes. Alabama had a 312-252 yardage advantage on offense. It didn’t matter.
The Commodores got help from Alabama to keep a 17-play drive that used up 9:50 of the clock with a pair of penalties. The Tide, with 17-year-old phenom Williams back to field the punt, also had another player on the field with the same No. 2 to give Vandy a first down.
On third down, Alabama linebacker Que Robinson hit Pavia and drew a flag for roughing that Tide fans hated. Five plays later, Alexander scored from a yard out to put Vandy up 20-7. Brock Taylor put Vandy up 23-7 with a 51-yard field goal with 4:10 left in the first half.
Poll implications
Alabama will drop out of the top spot after this loss to the SEC’s perennial cellar dweller. Alabama now is 64-4 against unranked teams as the AP’s top-ranked team.
The takeaways
Alabama: The Tide played sloppy coming off an emotional win over then-No. 2 Georgia and hurt themselves with too many penalties. The Tide had six penalties for 57 yards. They also failed to sack Pavia even once.
Vanderbilt: Lea’s numerous offseason changes paid off, and those included bringing in Pavia as a graduate transfer along with his head coach and offensive coordinator from New Mexico State. ... Kicker Brock Taylor also got a much-needed confidence boost after missing two field goals in the second overtime of a road loss at then-No. 7 Missouri. After having his second extra point attempt blocked, he came back to make a pair of field goals, including a 51-yarder.
Up next
Alabama returns home to host South Carolina.
Vanderbilt visits Kentucky.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
veryGood! (787)
Related
- Trump's 'stop
- 4 family members killed after suspected street race resulted in fiery crash in Texas
- Machine Gun Kelly Shares His Dad Stood Trial at Age 9 for His Own Father's Murder
- Brat summer is almost over. Get ready for 'demure' fall, a new viral TikTok trend.
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Browns rookie DT Mike Hall Jr. arrested after alleged domestic dispute
- Group explores ambulance vessels as part of solution to Maine’s island care crisis
- Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol taking over as Starbucks chief executive; Narasimhan steps down
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Georgia officials say Kennedy, 2 others have signatures for presidential ballot as disputes remain
Ranking
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- DNA investigation links California serial killer to 1986 killing of young woman near Los Angeles
- Vince Vaughn, ‘Ted Lasso’ co-creator Bill Lawrence bring good fun to Carl Hiaasen’s ‘Bad Monkey’
- Americans give Harris an advantage over Trump on honesty and discipline, an AP-NORC poll finds
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- 10 college football freshmen ready to make an instant impact this season
- Mega Millions winning numbers for August 13 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $435 million
- Houston prosecutors find no evidence of efforts to sway 2022 elections but charge a county worker
Recommendation
Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
Sister Wives Season 19 Trailer Shows Kody Brown's Relationships Unravel After Marrying Wrong Person
Kylie Jenner opens up about motherhood in new interview: 'I'm finally feeling like myself'
These Hocus Pocus-Inspired Gifts & Merch Will Put a Spell on You – So Gather ‘Round, Sisters
Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
4 family members killed after suspected street race resulted in fiery crash in Texas
San Francisco prosecutors charge 26 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who blocked Golden Gate Bridge
Real Housewives of Miami's Julia Lemigova and Wife Martina Navratilova Have Adopted Two Sons