Vanderbilt Stuns No. 1 Alabama in Raucous Home Upset Over Crimson Tide

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia keyed the school's first ever victory over an AP No. 1 team.

Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia keyed the biggest win in school history in Saturday's home upset of No. 1 Alabama. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just one week removed from a massive home victory over then-ranked No. 2 Georgia, the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide have fallen from the ranks of the unbeaten.

The unranked Vanderbilt Commodores stunned the top-ranked Crimson Tide, 40-35 on Saturday evening in college football's biggest upset of the season to-date.

The Commodores forced two turnovers of Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, including a key fumble with 10:35 to play that set up Vanderbilt's offense in plus-territory. Leading 33-28, the Commodores offense embarked on a seven-play, 53-yard touchdown drive that concluded with a six-yard scoring pass from quarterback Diego Pavia to tight end Kamrean Johnson with 5:07 to play to extend the lead to two scores, 40-28.

On the ensuing possession, Milroe and the Crimson Tide offense went to work quickly to try to salvage the late deficit. After driving deep into Vanderbilt territory, Alabama faced a fourth-and-1 from the Vanderbilt two-yard line. The Crimson Tide offense faked a run up the middle and pitched the ball to freshman sensation wide receiver Ryan Williams on an end around who trotted into the left side of the end zone untouched. After the PAT, Alabama trailed 40-35 with 2:46 to play.

But Alabama's defense could not get the stop that it needed, which in many ways, was the story of the day. Despite being armed with three timeouts and the mandated two-minute timeout, Alabama could not get its offense back on the field. Vanderbilt picked up three first downs and was able to exhaust the clock to capture its first ever win over an AP No. 1 team.

The Commodores moved to 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in SEC play, while the Crimson Tide are now 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the league.

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