Kalen DeBoer on crucial Alabama football penalty: ‘Gotta do a better job’

Alabama football was getting the ball back with a chance to take the lead. The Crimson Tide, down six points near the end of the first quarter, had forced Vanderbilt to punt, and Ryan Williams had caught the kick deep in his own territory.

The UA offense was prepared to try and drive down the field. But there was a flag on the field.

Williams and cornerback Zabien Brown, both No. 2, were on the field at the same time. Illegal substitution on Alabama, first down for Vanderbilt, which turned the drive into a touchdown to expand its lead to 20-7.

"We win as a team and we lose as a team," Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said after the game "And those are the things that really hurt because I think kept the drive alive and then ended up scoring a touchdown. It was just that hump that we couldn't quite get over a lot of the game, and that was an early one."

The points proved crucial later on. Alabama fell 40-35 in Nashville, its first loss to Vanderbilt since 1984.

It couldn't have come at a worse time to ruin DeBoer's honeymoon in his first season as Alabama's head coach.

"That's all of us," DeBoer said. "We have communication and ways of making sure we're all on the same page, and just what we called required certain guys to be on the field. It didn't get circulated around to everyone. I mean, we're well aware of that situation and just gotta do a better job."

Alabama (4-1, 1-1 SEC) will surely fall from the No. 1 spot when the AP poll is updated on Sunday. The Crimson Tide will be back in action next Saturday, facing South Carolina at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Vanderbilt, now 3-2 on the season, will head to Lexington to face Kentucky.