College football truly is the greatest sport in the world. A mere seven days ago Alabama had a 28-point lead over SEC powerhouse Georgia on national television, and today they trail SEC minnow Vanderbilt at halftime.
The wider football world was stunned to see the Crimson Tide fall into a 13-point hole at Nashville’s FirstBank Stadium as the Commodores scored an opening drive touchdown and then intercepted Alabama QB Jalen Milroe for a pick-six. But Alabama quickly got their sea legs under them, scoring a touchdown on their next possession. only for Vanderbilt to answer right back. The two teams exchanged scores in the second quarter and the Commodores took a 23-14 lead into halftime.
Milroe is six of 10 for 99 yards and an interception, while his Vanderbilt counterpart Diego Pavia is six of nine for 96 yards plus 27 yards on the ground. Running backs Jam Miller (Alabama) and Sedrick Alexander (Vanderbilt) have two touchdowns apiece.
NO. 1 BAMA IS DOWN TWO SCORES AGAINST VANDY AT THE HALF 😳
📺: @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/347czvqXLv
— ESPN (@espn) October 5, 2024
Fans on X are having the time of their life seeing Alabama struggle against a Vanderbilt team that usually finishes near the bottom of the conference:
“Were the old SEC East and West divisions rigged so that Bama could almost always duck Vandy and continue their dynasty? People are asking,” RedditCFB joked.
“If Bama loses to Vandy I don’t ever want to hear about Texas losing to Kansas ever again,” another user declared.
“It’s always the “no big games” weeks where the craziest, most bonkers things happen. But Vandy taking a 23-7 lead on Bama was not on my bingo card,” The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel wrote.
There’s still a lot of football left and plenty of time for Alabama to mount a comeback, but this slow start has been a downright terrible look for the Tide right on the heels of regaining their No. 1 national ranking.
The game is being played on the SEC Network.
Related: No. 1 Alabama Trailing By Two Scores Against Unranked Team