Hello and Roll Tide!

Tomorrow Alabama will host the Vanderbilt Commodores in a ranked SEC showdown. This is the first time since 1937 that Alabama and Vanderbilt face off while both ranked in the AP top 25. Last season Vanderbilt shocked all of college football by defeating Alabama 40-35 in Nashville. Kalen DeBoer and staff will try to avoid another upset and move to 2-0 in conference play. Below are injury notes, a Vanderbilt preview, and week 6 storylines. Let’s go!

Injury/Availability Notes:

  • Qua Russaw is listed as OUT
  • Jah-Marien Latham is listed as OUT
  • James Smith will miss the 1st half due to his targeting penalty against Georgia

Week 6 Preview: Vanderbilt Commodores

Alabama and Vanderbilt are familiar foes, having played 86 times in the past. Alabama leads the series 63-19-4 however Vanderbilt is on a 1-game winning streak against the Tide. Vanderbilt beat Alabama for the first time since 1984 and hopes to make it back-to-back, which has not occurred since the 1955-1956 seasons. Vanderbilt enters the contest with a 5-0 (1-0) record with impressive road wins against South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Clark Lea has Vanderbilt in the national conversation in his 5th year as head coach. Before taking over the Vanderbilt program, Lea was the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame from 2018-2020. ND posted a 33-5 record over that span with two College Football Playoff appearances. It may have taken some time, but Lea has Vanderbilt playing at a very high level.

The leader of Vanderbilt’s team is Diego Pavia. Pavia personally changed NCAA law after running out of eligibility last season. He appealed and set the precedent that JUCO players are awarded one additional year of eligibility. This helped Alabama as middle linebacker Justin Jefferson had run out of eligibility, having played two years at Pearl River Community College, and was awarded an extra year. Pavia has gained a reputation as the Upset King. Even before joining Vanderbilt, Pavia beat Auburn as the quarterback of New Mexico State. He is a charismatic leader and tough football player. Diego leads Vanderbilt in both rushing and passing in this prolific offense. Vanderbilt ranks 4th nationally scoring 49.0 points per game. They rank 14th nationally with 496.4 yards per game. This is a high-powered offense and Pavia is their engine. Last season Pavia passed for 252 yards with 2 touchdowns against that Tide, and added 56 yards on the ground. Vanderbilt runs an option-heavy offense and Pavia often makes the correct read. If Diego and the Vanderbilt offense are clicking, it will be a very difficult day for Alabama’s defense who has been susceptible to the run so far this season.

Vanderbilt’s defense has improved year-over-year. Last season they ranked 51st in scoring defense (23.4 point allowed per game) and are currently 31st allowing 17.2 points per game. A similar improvement was seen with yards allowed: 74th in 2024 allowing 376.5 yards per game as opposed to 21st in 2025 allowing 278.8 yards per game. Clark Lea is a defensive minded head coach and finally has the players bought in. As well, Lea promoted Steve Gregory to Defensive Coordinator in March of 2025. Gregory is a former NFL safety who played 8-seasons in the league after going undrafted out of Syracuse. Gregory has NFL coaching experience working with the Detroit Lions as their Defensive Backs coach and the Miami Dolphins as their Safeties coach. With Gregory’s experience at safety, it is not too surprising that Vanderbilt’s leading tackler is safety CJ Heard. Heard had a fantastic freshman season at FAU recording 80 tackles, then transferred to Vanderbilt and won the starting job. Vanderbilt has redefined their defense through the transfer portal. One familiar face is Keanu Koht who spent his last 4 seasons at Alabama. It may be difficult to believe, but Clark Lea has developed Vanderbilt into a very good football team.

Week 6 Storylines

Can Bama stop the run?: Alabama has been atrocious trying to stop the run this season. They rank 92nd nationally allowing 160.5 rushing yards per game. Tommy Castellanos perfected the option game against Alabama in week 1 as FSU rushed for 230 yards. The blueprint was provided by Diego Pavia a season ago, when Vanderbilt rushed for 166 yards against the Tide. Pavia and the Vanderbilt offense are even better this season, making it even more important for Alabama to improve their rush defense. Kane Wommack’s inability to make in-game adjustments has cost the Tide dearly is his short stint as the defensive coordinator. This game provides Kane an opportunity to gain favor with the Alabama faithful.

Will the O-line carousel keep turning?: Ryan Grubb has been anything but traditional when it comes to the offensive line. Eight different linemen have gotten consistent snaps along the line as Grubb keeps them fresh. Grubb used Kadyn Proctor in a screen pass, and even had him run in motion, showing a lot of creativity with the offensive line. A consistent starting 5 has been the standard in college football forever and Grubb’s creativity is changing that. Let’s see what he has in store for us this week.

Can Ty stay Red-Hot?: Since the FSU loss, Ty has been on fire. In three games vs ULM, Wisconsin, and Georgia, Ty has completed 77% of his passes for 884 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. After the Georgia win, Sportsbooks have Ty with the 2nd best odds to win the Heisman and he’s been receiving 1st round NFL draft buzz. Ty needs to block out the outside noise and continue to play his game. If he keeps this up, Alabama could have a magical season.

What is your score prediction? Who will have a breakout game? Send any questions or comments my way! As always, if you know anyone who’s interested in joining the newsletter, send me their contact information. Roll Tide! -Jake