#16 Vanderbilt vs #10 Alabama Game Preview
Alabama stumbled out of the gate in 2025 losing an unranked, at the time, Florida State team. Despite many college football fans claiming the vultures were circling Alabama, they find themselves in the top 10 again following a road win vs Georgia. QB Deigo Pavia and his Vanderbilt Commodores enter this game with a perfect 5-0 record. Alabama holds an impressive record vs Vanderbilt all time, but Vanderbilt handed Alabama arguably the upset of the season in 2024 beat the Crimson Tide 4-35 when Alabama was ranked #1 in the nation.
An argument could be made that the winner of this game sets themselves up for a favorable path the college football playoff. None of Vanderbilt’s games thus far in 2025 have been ‘close’. If Vanderbilt could beat Alabama and then fair well against teams like LSU, Texas and Tennessee, there is a path to the playoffs. If Alabama were to win, beating Georgia and Vanderbilt begins to make the Florida State loss, less impactful. Then Bama simply has the task of facing four more SEC ranked opponents. If Alabama loses to Vanderbilt, their path to the playoff becomes daunting.
Vanderbilt returns most of what made them a story last year. Deigo Pavia could present continued issues for Alabama’s defense and they’ve added key contributors on offense. In all passing plays that do not include play action, Pavia ranks in the top 10 in the nation in virtually every passing stat. That’s without relying on the threat of a run. The numbers are not only better than 2024, they are significantly better.
With or without the week 1 misstep, Alabama is not an afterthought in this game. Ty Simpson is a noteworthy QB in this game as well. The current #2 early in Heisman tracking, Simpson can be a threat if Alabama can give him a clean pocket. Coming into this game Ty Simpson has a 69% completion rate on almost 1200 yards, 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions. One of the matchups to look for is can Vanderbilt get pressure on Simpson and force him to operate in a less than clean pocket.
The Alabama offensive line has performed better than the Vanderbilt defense, but the margin is not as wide as you might think. Vanderbilt in 2025 has shown significant growth in their defensive front as well as how they cover in pass coverage. Bama’s offensive line vs Vandy’s defensive pressure might be the best non QB matchup to watch, but if Vanderbilt can’t get to Ty Simpson, this very well could come down to a Quarterback’s duel between Simpson and Pavia.