Alabama Football

For Nick Saban, it was Louisiana-Monroe. Kalen DeBoer also has now endured a stunning loss in his debut season at Alabama with a loss to Vanderbilt that dealt a massive but not necessarily fatal blow to the now seventh-ranked Crimson Tide’s playoff and Southeastern Conference title hopes.

Alabama safety Malachi Moore has apologized for his late-game outburst in a loss to Vanderbilt. The two-time team captain shoved Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia's head toward the ground at the end of a play, threw his mouthguard and drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for kicking the football in the 40-35 upset that cost the Crimson Tide the No. 1 ranking.

Longtime Associated Press Top 25 voter Kirk Bohls of the Houston Chronicle said this week's ballot was the most difficult he's had to fill out. Six unranked teams upset Top 25 teams. Texas returned to No. 1 after a week’s absence. The biggest questions were how far to drop Alabama for losing to Vanderbilt and what to do with Georgia.

It was a week of upheaval in The Associated Press college football poll. Texas returned to No. 1 after a one-week absence following Vanderbilt’s monumental upset of Alabama. The Commodores’ win over Alabama on Saturday caused the Crimson Tide to drop from No. 1 to No. 7.

Vanderbilt’s stunning upset of No. 1 Alabama that led to crazed fans marching the goal posts through the streets of Nashville was just the appetizer. Saturday proved to be one of the wildest days in the AP poll in years. Four teams ranked in the top 11 in the latest poll were upset by unranked teams, the first time that happened on a single day since 2016, when five teams did it.

Sedrick Alexander ran for two touchdowns, Randon Fontenette scored on a pick-six and Diego Pavia outplayed Heisman Trophy candidate Jalen Milroe as Vanderbilt stunned Alabama 40-35 for the Commodores’ first win over the nation’s top-ranked team. Vanderbilt came into Saturday having lost all 60 games against AP top-five teams.

The Alabama Crimson Tide have lots of experience being ranked No. 1 and staying focused on what matters most. That’s lifting the national championship trophy at season’s end. So that victory over then-No. 2 Georgia is not going to linger enough for Alabama to trip up Saturday in a rare visit to Vanderbilt.

Alabama takes its new No. 1 ranking on the road. The Crimson Tide visit Vanderbilt on Saturday, fresh from a win over fifth-ranked Georgia that vaulted them to the top of the poll. The Commodores, meanwhile, took No. 9 Missouri into double overtime before falling.

The kids in the SEC are more than alright. Some of have been straight up spectacular. At Alabama, it was 17-year-old wide receiver Ryan Williams and cornerback Zabien Brown making the big plays in the final moments of a wild 41-34 win over Georgia.

The Auburn Tigers opened with five straight home games and high hopes of showing progress under second-year coach Hugh Freeze. They limped away from Jordan-Hare Stadium with a mistake-riddled 2-3 start and the Tigers’ biggest challenge yet awaiting: A visit to No. 5 Georgia.