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Wasson: Nick Saban would have never let Vanderbilt shock No. 1 Alabama
By David Wasson
Published:
Nick Saban didn’t win every game he ever coached at Alabama. Nope, even though history will record Saban as the greatest college football coach in history, his Crimson Tide teams managed to spit the bit 29 times on the field of play over 235 games.
Games like Ole Miss at Oxford with Katy Perry egging the Rebels on, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel en route to the Heisman and even a fateful home date with a son of a preacher man are on the wrong side of that ledger.
But what Saban never did, never ever, was present Vanderbilt the opportunity to have more than a moment’s hope against his Tide dynasty.
But this isn’t Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide anymore. This is 2024, and with new coach Kalen DeBoer strolling the Commodore Stadium sideline in a t-shirt, Vanderbilt broke the seal in its’ very first post-dynasty attempt.
Saturday’s 40-35 Commodores victory was stunning in every detail. It was the 1st time in school history Vanderbilt ever beat a No. 1 team. Heck, it was the 1st time Vanderbilt ever beat a top-5 team – going 0-60 against them in its lackluster football history until Saturday.
Saturday was also the 1st time Alabama lost to Vanderbilt in Nashville since 1979, and only the 4th time in Tide history that it lost to an unranked team as No. 1 – including once to Texas A&M back in 2021 in College Station.
But Vandy? C’mon … Saban’s Tide teams rolled Vandy to the tune of 172-13 over 4 games.
This is the program that jokingly gets referred to as members of the SEC solely to raise the conference’s collective GPAs. Odds are way better than an Alabama fan will someday work for a Vanderbilt graduate, but odds of the Commodores squaring up against the Tide on the football field and walking out on top?
After all, the SEC touts the saying “It Just Means More” with gauzy highlights of winning moments from football games all fall.
Vanderbilt is a non-factor in those.
This website writes thousands upon thousands of words every week about SEC football, analyzing the games and teams from literally all angles.
Vanderbilt is a non-factor here, too.
And when Saturday dawned in Nashville over an under-construction stadium ready to be mostly filled with fans from the opposing team, the home squad was ready to once again assume its spot in the college football pantheon.
Vanderbilt was all set to be a non-factor once again.
But a funny thing happened: Precisely no one bothered to inform the Commodores about their role.
Saban’s Tide never let a Vandy team motor up and down the field – any field, anywhere, anytime – like the Commodores did Saturday afternoon. Saban’s defenses at Alabama always seemed to figure out the matrix no matter what opposing offenses threw at them.
Not this time. It was Clark Lea on the home sideline as the game’s Final Boss, pushing all the right buttons and keeping Alabama’s mighty offense off the field for huge stretches while simultaneously moving the rock with his offense.
By any objective measure, Vanderbilt had no business hanging with Alabama. Again, no one bothered to tell Vandy – which at kickoff was a 22.5-point underdog and had only won 2 conference games in Lea’s 4 seasons.
Still, there is hope and there is reality. Surely, Lea walked into the deal at Vandy eyes wide open, as he had played there from 2002-04. Surely, Lea knew that beating the No. 1 team in America would be like climbing Mount Everest without oxygen and in flip-flops. Vanderbilt doesn’t beat the No. 1 team in the country, especially when it sells more tickets to Tide fans than Commodores fans every time Alabama rolls into town.
But there Lea was at the end – hugging anyone who entered his orbit, his feet not even touching the ground as he was drenched with Gatorade on his way to shake DeBoer’s hand, and there was the Savior of Vanderbilt injecting the West End with more football life than they have ever felt before.
“I believe in our team. I believe what we are building,” Lea said as he was being mobbed by Commodore fans who unfurled a homemade “Shock The World” banner on the field and tore down the goal posts in jubilation. “There is more for us than this, but this is a helluva arrival for tonight. I love this university and I love this team.
“This is the dream, right here. This is what Vanderbilt football needs to be about.”
What becomes of Alabama – other than a crisp fall from the top spot in the polls?
DeBoer simply has too much talent onboard for the Tide to crumble, you’d figure … but then again, you’d figure Alabama would have walked all over Vandy once again en route to bigger and better things in 2024.
Before Saturday, Vanderbilt was a non-factor in the SEC in 2024 – nothing but a speed bump on Alabama’s schedule. But when the sun set on FirstBank Stadium, it was the Commodores dancing, celebrating and busily shocking the post-Saban college football world.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
