How long it took Vanderbilt goalposts to go in Cumberland River after Alabama upset
Vanderbilt football has been living at the bottom of the SEC for many years now, but it appears that they're starting to turn things around. On Saturday, they pulled off one of the biggest shockers in recent memory in college football when they knocked off Alabama 40-35 in Nashville. The win marked Vanderbilt's first-ever win over a team ranked No. 1 in the AP poll.
Despite a lot of losing seasons and plenty of blowouts against the top of the SEC, the Vanderbilt faithful showed that they still know how to celebrate a big win. They tore down the goalposts at Vanderbilt Stadium and paraded them down Broadway. Just over an hour after the game ended, the goalposts had officially been dumped in the Cumberland River.
It was an incredible scene in Nashville after the win, as the goalposts made it over three miles on their journey from the stadium to the river. Vanderbilt will have another chance onstage a massive celebration in just a few weeks, when they host No. 2 Texas at home on Oct. 26.
Vanderbilt offense goes wild in upset of Alabama
In four meetings between Vanderbilt and Alabama while Nick Saban was the head coach of the Crimson Tide, the Commodores scored 13 combined points. In their 2024 meeting, they dropped 40 on their way to knocking off the No. 1 team in the country in a stunner.
The Vanderbilt offense could not be stopped by an Alabama defense that made things very difficult for Georgia last week, as the Commodores gained 418 yards of total offense in a very balanced effort. They racked up 252 yards through the air and 166 on the ground and continuously came up big when it mattered, converting 12 of their 18 third down attempts and picking up the only fourth down that they went for.
Vanderbilt also protected the ball and won the turnover battle, as the Alabama defense failed to generate even one takeaway. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was a star , doing it all for the Commodores' offense. Pavia completed 16 of his 20 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns and also ran 20 times for 56 yards. His QBR, a stat measured out of 100, was 95.9.
Pat of this was good offense, and part of it was bad Alabama defense. The Crimson Tide struggled with penalties at times, giving up first downs on defense to help move the chains for Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt has shown flashes of their improvement this season, as they picked up a season-opening win against Virginia Tech in Week 1. If they can keep this level of play going, they can be a frisky team in the SEC.
