How Vanderbilt beat No. 1 Alabama: Jalen Milroe's miscues, 'rat poison' among factors in shocking upset

The anatomy of how the Commodores stunned the top-ranked Crimson Tide

The idea of "complementary football" is an old coaching cliche, but it was on full display in Vanderbilt's upset of No. 1 Alabama as the Commodores' offense, defense and special worked in perfect synergy to create an unforgettable outcome. While quarterback Diego Pavia was the hero, there were myriad of factors that led to one of the SEC's all-time great stunners.

Vanderbilt owned the nation's longest losing streak against AP top-5 teams at 60 games when it welcomed the Crimson Tide to town. The 'Dores were 23.5-point underdogs and were 0-10 all-time agains AP No. 1 teams. They had been outscored 100-0 the two previous times they faced a No. 1 Alabama team.

The list of facts and figures goes on and on. But any way you break it down, this is one of the most-surprising results of SEC football history. This is a Vanderbilt program that lost at Georgia State last month and finished 2-10 one last season.

But for those paying close attention, there were also signs of progress this year. The Commodores upset Virginia Tech in Week 1 and played then-No. 7 Missouri down to the wire on the road in Week 4. The Commodores were also coming off a bye, which gave them time to get healthy and assemble a plan for taking down the Crimson Tide.

Here's the breakdown of how Vanderbilt did it.

Controlling the football 

When Kentucky stunned Ole Miss last week as a heavy underdog, the Wildcats did it by owning the time of possession. Vanderbilt copied that playbook and edged the Crimson Tide in time of possession by a whopping 42:08-17:52. The slog began with a game-opening 75-yard touchdown drive that ate 6:14 off the clock and it never let up.

Not once did the Commodores go three-and-out and five of their six scoring drives lasted four or more minutes. Alabama is a team that prefers to play with tremendous pace offensively, and the Crimson Tide certainly weren't going to slow down while playing from behind. But as a result, they scored quickly -- Alabama didn't have a single possessions longer than four minutes -- and repeatedly put their defense on the field with little rest. Vanderbilt then took advantage of the Crimson Tide's fatigue by steadily moving the chains.

The Commodores converted on 12 of 18 third-down attempts, repeatedly forcing Alabama's fatiguing defense to stay on the field.

Turnover battle

A common theme in many of the most unlikely college football upsets is that the victor found a way to win the turnover battle. Such was the case for the Commodores, who benefitted from a pair of turnovers by Alabama star quarterback Jalen Milroe.

When Milroe made an ill-advised throw on a third-and-6 play in the first quarter. When the ball was tipped into the air, Vanderbilt linebacker Randon Fontenette happened to be in perfect position to bring down the fluttering football. Once he corralled it, he took it 28 yards for a touchdown to put Vanderbilt ahead 13-0.

With Vanderbilt clinging to a 33-28 edge in the fourth quarter, Commodores' edge rusher Miles Capers strip-sacked Milroe. Yilanan Ouattara fell on it to give the Commodores great field position. Seven plays and nearly four-and-a-half minutes later, Vanderbilt scored to go ahead 40-28 with just 5:07 remaining.

Vanderbilt did not commit a turnover, and it turned Alabama's two turnovers into 13 points. It was an absolute necessity in the formula for slowing down the Crimson Tide's high-powered attack.

Special teams mattered

It could easily go overlooked amid the mayhem of the moment, but Vanderbilt punter Jesse Mirco played a significant role during a critical third-quarter sequence. Leading just 23-21 after 14 unanswered points from Alabama, Vanderbilt stalled at midfield. It was the only time all game when the 'Dores went consecutive possessions without scoring, and it seemed as if the Crimson Tide were poised to take command of the game. 

That's when Mirco dropped a 46-yard punt onto Alabama's 4-yard line. Alabama went three-and-out, returning the football to the Commodores in excellent field position. Four plays later, Pavia hit Junior Sherrill for a 36-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 to put Vanderbilt ahead 30-21.

Commodores kicker Brock Taylor also connected on both his attempts, converting from 33 and 51 yards. It was a redemptive performance for Taylor after he went 2 for 4 in Vanderbilt's 3-point loss to Missouri.

Vanderbilt got legendary QB play

Few college football quarterbacks have the guts and ability to go toe-to-toe with Alabama star quarterback Jalen Milroe. But Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia had both. The New Mexico State transfer and former zero-star prospect completed 16 of 20 passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also tallied 56 yards on 20 rushing attempts as he repeatedly extended drives with his arm and feet.

Pavia has been giving the Commodores a dose of swagger since arriving on campus. He took it to legendary heights against the Crimson Tide with a nearly flawless performance that led to one of the more passionate postgame interviews you'll see.

Scheduling circumstances and rat poison 

It's difficult to dismiss how the schedule favored Vanderbilt in this spot as the Commodores entered off a bye. By contrast, the Crimson Tide were coming off a dogfight against Georgia last week, besting the Bulldogs 41-34 in a dramatic finish.

It was an emotionally and physically taxing victory that likely took a toll on the Crimson Tide's ability to refocus for a game against one of the conference's supposed doormats. Ultimately, if there was a letdown factor for the Crimson Tide, that falls on head coach Kalen DeBoer. His predecessor, Nick Saban often railed about the dangers of ingesting "rat poison" when his teams were endlessly praised for their accomplishments. It's quite possible DeBoer's first squad fell in the rat poison trap.