Sunday Hangover: Vanderbilt

In the age of transfer portal, programs like Vandy are making smart moves, which makes sense because it's a great academic institution. They have smart people. 

It was tied 14 to 14 at the half with Alabama doing a no-huddle, touchdown-scoring drive right before the half on a pretty pass to Bernard. 

The Commodores didn't score in the second half. 

Jefferson stripping Pavia deep in Tide territory and the interception in the red zone were huge plays for Alabama's defense.  

Simpson slung the ball around after suffering his first interception of the season. He threw for 340 yards with touchdowns to Williams and the aforementioned Bernard. 

The announcers touted how good the Vanderbilt defense had been against the rush. 

The Tide looked great running the ball with Miller. He toted the rock 22 times for 136 yards. 

That's a good sign. The Tide just can't have to pass the ball all the time. They need to run more effectively and not just exclusively with Miller. 

LB Justin Jefferson had a day: 14 total tackles--9 solo and 5 assists. 

There was one set of downs when I got upset with OC Grubb because the calls got too cute. It was the series that petered out when they ran Bernard in the wildcat. All they needed to do was run the ball in a traditional way or let Simpson do his thing. 

The one wrinkle I really liked was letting Proctor run the ball in a short yardage situation. Let the big man eat. 

Diego Pavia had some smack talk that got some attention. He said, "But we just gotta play within the white lines. If we do that, if we play our game, it won't be close." 

It was close at halftime. 

He was halfway right. It wasn't close at the end: Vanderbilt 14, Alabama 30. 

Vanderbilt is a tough team though. They have an offense that is difficult to defend because of the need for extreme eye discipline. And our secondary, as Greg McElroy showcased during the broadcast, did a poor job of fitting gaps in run game in the first half. 

Next up is a road game against the Missouri Tigers. 

I'd like to see Proctor working as a really fullback. 

Sunday Hangover: Vanderbilt

I had a hell of Sunday and not just because Alabama had a terrible loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon. 

They simply had a great game plan they executed, and once again the adjustments in the second half by the defense were not good enough. 

It was a perfect time to play the Tide after a great win versus Georgia the Saturday before. 

The team was resting on its laurels and thought they would just steamroll the Commodores like they always have. 

As the cliche goes, "That's why they play the games." 

The honeymoon with DeBoer is officially over. 

Sunday Hangover: Vanderbilt

It's been quite a while since Alabama has played Vanderbilt. So the 'Dores came to Bryant-Denny on Saturday and got roundly spanked by a tune of 55 to 3.

Vandy had one good drive that resulted in a field goal in the first quarter, but that just seemed to piss off the Tide, and they shut everything down from then on out. 

The first part of the game didn't feature much of a running game. It was like Alabama just wanted the Oline to practice pass protection and get Young some quality work with his receivers. 

That plan happened if it indeed was a plan. 

Later one when Vandy when to a three-man front, the Tide decided to run more, and with the Tide up big, the running backs got some good work. It didn't matter whether it was a three-man or a four-man front. 

Gibbs didn't feature much in the game, but when he did, he looked outstanding. If he gets a little bit of space, he can use his speed to make some defenders look flat out silly. 

It was great to see McClellan running hard. He's more along the long line of bigger, brusing backs we've had in the past. 

And while Jamarion Miller has only gotten work in garbage time, he looks really damn good too. 

Brooks had one hell of day. Young threw to him often in the first quarter, and overall he amassed 117 yards on 6 catches with 2 TDs. 

Next up is a very difficult matchup in Fayetteville against Arkansas after they had a heartbreaking loss against Texas A&M. They should have won in Jerry World. 

Sunday Hangover: Vanderbilt

A few Vanderbilt players were vocal in "wanting" Alabama and exclaiming how the Crimson Tide was "next." 

They didn't get what they wanted. 

What they got was an offense that was destructive, an offensive line that mashed people, running backs that helped a running game to chalk up almost 500 yards, and defense that was downright nasty. 

Harris had three touchdowns, and Bo had a couple.

The defense was salty, which I attribute to having two of starters back in the lineup: Rashaan Evans and Anfernee Jennings. 

The offense reminded me of earlier great Alabama teams like the '09 championship team. 

The game was an outstanding display for the "Run the Damn Ball" crowd, a group I am a member of. I like passes and all that, but I love it when Alabama runs the ball well.