College Football HQ

Alabama falls at Vanderbilt: National reaction as No. 1 Crimson Tide goes down

Vanderbilt pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football history after knocking off No. 1 Alabama on Saturday in a game that will send reverberations throughout the sport.

James Parks

Vanderbilt took down No. 1 Alabama in one of the most shocking upsets in college football history.
Vanderbilt took down No. 1 Alabama in one of the most shocking upsets in college football history. / Butch Dill-Imagn Images
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College football saw the upset of the 2024 season on Saturday, as newly-ranked No. 1 Alabama was handed a shocking, bombshell loss at the hands of perennial SEC punching bag Vanderbilt, a game that puts Kalen DeBoer’s coaching tenure under intense early scrutiny.

Vanderbilt pulled off arguably one of the biggest upsets in college football history on Saturday, as the unranked Commodores knocked off No. 1 Alabama, a result that will send the Crimson Tide down in the rankings and thoroughly disrupts the early SEC title race and College Football Playoff picture.

Vanderbilt had won just 2 games in SEC play since the 2020 season, losing the other 32 conference games, but it had all the answers in a historic 40-35 victory.

"I believe in our team," Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said after the game. "I love this university and I love this team. Let's go get some more. This is the dream right here."

The win snapped a 23-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide dating back to 1984 and is the first ever win for the Commodores against an AP No. 1 team.

Vandy was 0-60 against top-five ranked teams coming into the game and was 0-10 against No. 1 teams. Until today.

For Alabama, the loss is the most stunning since a defeat against UL Monroe during Nick Saban's debut with the program in the 2007 season.

National reaction after Vandy takes down No. 1 Alabama

Not bad for Vanderbilt transfer quarterback Diego Pavia, who helped lead the Commodores to a historic win against Alabama, passing for over 250 yards and 2 touchdowns with no turnovers.

Plenty of history was made, both for Alabama and Vanderbilt in the upset, including the Commodores ending some long, long streaks.

Clark Lea has been working on a rebuild of his alma mater's football program, and he hopes the win against Alabama will be a big stepping stone in that project.

Yeah, it's been a while.

There will be questions for Kane Wommack and his defense after this result.

Jalen Milroe emerged as the Heisman favorite after his performance against Georgia last week, but the Alabama offense can't do anything if he's on the sideline.

It's the best sport in the world.

Where does Vanderbilt's upset stand in historical terms?

To date, the biggest upset in college football history remains when Howard took down UNLV back in 2017 as 45.5 point underdogs.

This game doesn't come quite that close, as the Commodores were 22.5 point underdogs against the Crimson Tide.

But it's a result that could have a big impact on the national title race going forward.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.

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