The problem with Kalen DeBoer’s first three teams at Alabama has rarely been how Alabama – especially on the road – showed up ready to play against the strongest of opponents.
The problem has been how Alabama follows up against teams from second and third tiers. There isn’t an Alabama fan alive today that doesn’t have nightmarish memories of losing to Vanderbilt in Nashville in 2024, one week after beating Georgia in Tuscaloosa.
Fortunately for Alabama this year, Diego Pavia won’t be part of the Commodores’ show. The ‘Dores have fallen off substantially in 2026, winning their first conference game of the year last week against a struggling Mississippi State team, which broke a five-game losing streak for Vanderbilt coming into that game. With Florida and Tennessee awaiting Vanderbilt after this game against Alabama, it’s very possible the Commodores have already seen their last conference win for the year.
OFFENSE
Vanderbilt does enough quirky things to make opponents prepare specifically for facing its systems, especially flipping the offensive line strong-to-weak based on formation and playcall. The offense is a bit spread, a bit RPO, and even a bit of the wishbone. It keeps Vanderbilt competitive, as it forces teams to play assignment football, but it’s not unstoppable. Vanderbilt ranks 111th in total offense, 123rd in rushing offense and 70th in passing offense in 2026. Scoring offense lags badly at a ranking of 103rd. Alabama will deploy its Air Raid variant again, and given Vanderbilt’s defensive strength has been stopping the run while being prone to the pass, it wouldn’t surprise us to see Alabama lean into that mismatch. Alabama ranks 52nd in total offense, 86th in rushing offense and 35th in passing offense. Scoring offense, at 16th, has been highly efficient.
QUARTERBACKS
In time, Vanderbilt’s Jared Curtis figures to develop into one of the conference’s most effective quarterbacks. A five-star recruit, the Commodores flipped him off a commitment to Georgia, but his first year under center has been scattershot at best. With Blaze Berlowitz injured and out for this game, it will have to be Curtis going all the way. On the season, he’s completed 64.7% of his passes for 1,657 yards, 8 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Curtis isn’t a true dual-threat but he is athletic and can be effective while scrambling. Whit Muschamp will serve as Curtis’ backup but he won’t play unless he has to. For Alabama, Keelon Russell figures to start, although Russell did suffer a minor injury against LSU and Austin Mack may get in the game earlier than expected. There’s little comparison between Curtis and Russell at this point and virtually no comparison between Mack and Muschamp. Advantage: Alabama
RUNNING BACKS
Sedrick Alexander never seems to put up major season stats – he’s averaging just 3.9 yards per carry – but he was a key figure in the 2024 upset and Alabama has to respect him. Alexander is compact and strong, and is also a fixture in the Commodore passing game. Backups Makhilyn Young and Jamezell Lassiter have similar stat breakdowns. Alexander’s 6 touchdowns make up exactly half of Vanderbilt’s team totals for the year. Alabama will likely go with Tre’shawn Brown and Daniel Hill for most of the day, but Ezavier Crowell is expected back for this game. Statisically, Vanderbilt has looked more effective on paper but Alabama has better efficiency metrics and is better at scoring touchdowns on the ground. There’s a definitive speed advantage up and down the depth chart as well. This may actually be one of those weeks where Alabama finds something. Advantage: Alabama
WIDE RECEIVERS
Junior Sherrill has 56 receptions for 747 yards (13.3 avg.) and 4 touchdowns; he’s the leader in both catches and yards in this game by a significant margin. But what Vanderbilt lacks is depth to go around him. Vandy has to throw all its remaining receivers in a bucket just to add up to the same stats Sherrill has produced by himself. Ja’Cory Thomas and Tristen Brown are the other two starters at receiver, while Cole Spence and Jayvontay Conner will rotate at tight end. Spence and Conner are capable tight ends, but nothing on the level of former Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers, who terrorized Alabama back in 2024. Alabama transfer Cole Adams and Brycen Coleman provide depth at receiver. Alabama will be without TE Josh Ford for this game, which means likely that Kaleb Edwards and Marshall Pritchett will start and be backed up by Jay Lindsey and Danny Lewis Jr.; Lewis will probably see the biggest increase in his role. Alabama also figures to work in Jack Sammarco or Mack Sutter as it searches for a replacement for Ford, who tore his ACL late against LSU. Ryan Coleman-Williams’ return against LSU was a huge plus for this offense, and Rico Scott and Lotzeir Brooks give Alabama a solid three-man rotation at receiver. Derek Meadows, Cederian Morgan and Noah Rogers provide depth. Sherrill is a quality receiver and can give defenses trouble, but Alabama has the edge everywhere else. Advantage: Alabama
OFFENSIVE LINE
Both teams have struggled statistically but Alabama is coming off two solid weeks in a row in pass protection, and actually lead Vanderbilt (76th vs. 82nd) in tackles for loss allowed. Alabama also might get Will Sanders back this week at left guard, far ahead of original schedule following ankle tightrope surgery. If Sanders is back, that will allow Mal Waldrep to be the top backup at guard and center, which is necessary because the only other center available for Alabama this week is walk-on J.D. Martin. Martin got a fair bit of work in the spring, but he’s small. For the rest of the Bama line, Jackson Lloyd will start at left tackle and Jayvin James at right tackle, Racin Delgatty at center and Michael Carroll at right guard. Vanderbilt’s quick/strong flip OL puts T Clinton Azubuike and G Cade McConnell on the weak (typically the left) side, T C.J. Williams and G Orion Irving on the strong side and Lyndon Cooper at center. Vanderbilt has subbed liberally at tackle, with Mitchell Smith and Beau Johnson both getting multiple starts, so expect the Commodores to use multiple alignments. Things haven’t been perfect on Alabama’s side but they may be beginning to align. Advantage: Alabama
DEFENSE
Both teams operate from a 4-2-5 with one end essentially a flex linebacker. It’s a Wolf in Alabama terminology and a Razor up in Nashville. Vanderbilt’s total defense (68th) and rush defense (64th) numbers are middle-of-the-road, but everything else has struggled: red zone defense, third-down defense and fourth-down defense all rank 109th or worse. Pass defense (81st) and pass efficiency defense (99th) has also been suboptimal. Vanderbilt also ranks 127th in turnover margin, as the Commodores neither intercept a lot of passes (71st) or cause a lot of fumbles (115th). Alabama has famously given up a lot of raw passing yardage (112th) this year but ranks 51st in total defense and 22nd in rush defense.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Vanderbilt will use multiple fronts but it’s still searching for more dependability up front. Issa Ouattara has been a staple of the defensive line, but Talan Carter is a relatively new addition to the starting lineup ahead of Glenn Seabrooks. Jaylon Stone has also started a game this year and will play a lot in relief of the starters. Edwin Kolenge will start at what amounts to the Bandit end spot, backed up by Khalil Poteat. It’s not a terrible line but it also doesn’t qualify as dynamic, either. Alabama will start Terrance Green and either London Simmons or Kedrick Bingley-Jones in the middle; the return of Green against LSU proved to be a game-changer. With Green back in the lineup, DE Devan Thompkins returned to his hybrid role and excelled. Isaia Faga and Edric Hill add depth inside while Fatutoa Henry gives Bama options off the bench at end. With Green back in action, this one isn’t particularly close. Advantage: Alabama
LINEBACKERS
Having Green back at defensive tackle also had the effect of being able to shift Thompkins and free up Wolf linebacker Yhonzae Pierre against LSU. Pierre will start there, with Caleb Woodson and Luke Metz – who it felt like was filming his own highlight reel against LSU – starting inside. Q.B. Reese and Xavier Griffin will get most of the reserve snaps inside, while Jah-Marien Latham and Justin Hill will back up Pierre. For Vanderbilt, the Commodores make very good use of a pair of hybrid OLB/ILB players in Miles Capers and Nick Rinaldi. Capers and Rinaldi have combined for 12 tackles for loss and 6 sacks. Between them will be Bryan Longwell, who isn’t as dynamic as some of Vanderbilt’s past middle linebackers, but he’s a solid player in his own right. This is actually a very close call and is by far the strength of this Vanderbilt team, but we like Bama’s depth a bit more. Advantage: Alabama
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Neither team has done a good job at shutting down the opponent’s passing game. Vanderbilt has one true star in the backfield, safety C.J. Heard, who leads the team in tackles, has 3 sacks from his safety spot and an interception, 6 PBU, 1 QB hurry and 2 forced fumbles. It’s the rest of the group that can be problematic at times. Cayden Daniels and Jordan Matthews will split one of the corner spots, with Martel Hight getting the other one. Ricardo Jones and Mason Lewis have settled into the other two safety spots. Alabama will start Dijon Lee at one of the corners and probably Zabien Brown at the other, although expect to see a lot of Carmelo O’Neal relieving Brown, who is still favoring a hurt leg. Bray Hubbard, Keon Sabb and Rydarrius Morgan will form the safety trio, with Chuck McDonald and Ivan Taylor getting most of the reserve reps. The differences here come down to depth and Alabama’s superior ability to turn offenses over. Advantage: Alabama
SPECIAL TEAMS
Vanderbilt has one of the best special teams units Alabama has seen or will see in 2026, at least in terms of the kickers themselves. Punter Tyler Ebel is averaging nearly 47 yards per kick, but mediocre punt return defense has cut into the Commodores’ net punting numbers. Placekicker Brock Taylor has been perfect on PATs and is 13-of-15 (86.7%) on his field goal tries, with his only two misses coming from blocked kicks. Taylor has major range for a college kicker. Alabama has much better punt return defense and returns, and while Vanderbilt ranks 14th in the country in kickoff return defense, Alabama ranks 4th. Vandy makes it close, but Alabama still takes it. Advantage: Alabama
OVERALL
Alabama leads in all eight categories, a rare straight-8 for a conference game. Where the Tide really presses the advantage, though, is in the OL-DL cross-matchups. Alabama’s DL holds a substantial advantage over Vanderbilt’s OL, and the Alabama OL leads by a comfortable margin over the Commodore DL.
There really shouldn’t be any drama to this one, but there probably shouldn’t have been any drama to the 2024 game, yet there was. Alabama needs to approach this game with all the focus and resolve it used last week in Baton Rouge, and put this game away quickly. There really isn’t much more to say, other than it’s simply time to take care of business.
Alabama 38
Vanderbilt 17
Follow Jess Nicholas on X at @TideFansJessN