The Vanderbilt Commodores stunned No. 1 Alabama on Saturday, beating the Crimson Tide 40-35 for the football program’s first win over a No. 1 team.
Vanderbilt jumped out to an early lead, with Sedrick Alexander rushing seven yards for a touchdown early in the first quarter and then the defense returning a Jalen Milroe interception for a touchdown on Alabama’s next possession to take a 13-0 lead.
The Commodores led 23-14 at halftime before the Crimson Tide’s offense started to kick into gear, scoring 14 points in the third quarter to Vanderbilt’s 7 to pull within two points heading into the 4th quarter.
Vanderbilt responded with a field goal and then a touchdown pass from quarterback Diego Pavia to tight end Kamrean Johnson to take a 40-28 lead. Alabama scored a touchdown with 2:46 left in the final frame to cut the deficit to five points but got no closer.
Alabama had won 23 straight games on the field vs. Vanderbilt, dating back to 1985. It was the third-longest streak by one conference team against another in SEC history. Vanderbilt was 0-60 all-time vs AP Top-5 teams before Saturday, the longest such streak in the Poll Era (since 1936).
ESPN Research contributed to this story.