2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 10: Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt provided Kalen DeBoer his true "welcome to the SEC" moment when the Commodores upset then No. 1 Alabama in early October of 2024 during DeBoer's first season. It was Vanderbilt's first win over the Crimson Tide in four decades and helped catapult Clark Lea's program onto the national stage.

Alabama avenged the defeat in 2025, handing the Commodores one of their two regular season losses. The Crimson Tide and Commodores will meet again this season as DeBoer makes the return trip to Nasvhille.

Diego Pavia is no longer leading the Commodores under center, but Vanderbilt picked up a strong replacement in highly-touted five-star freshman Jared Curtis.

Here's any early look at what the Commodores will look like in 2026:

Offense

Vanderbilt had one of the best offenses in college football last season, and while the Commodores will be without the Heisman runner-up in Pavia, they do return their leading running back Sedrick Alexander and second-leading receiver Junior Sherrill.

Alexander rushed for 567 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He has scored at least one touchdown in each of the previous two matchups against Alabama. Sherrill had 54 catches for 784 yards and seven receiving touchdowns. He scored in Vanderbilt's win over Alabama in 2024.

Besides Pavia, the biggest piece Vanderbilt lost offensively was tight end Eli Stowers, who was the only Commodore selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. Graduate Cole Spence will be relied on to step into a bigger role at tight end after catching 15 passes for 233 yards last season.

Vanderbilt revamped its offensive line with three transfers including former Alabama lineman Micah DeBose. North Dakota State transfer Beau Johnson is a name to watch on the offensive line and is expected to be a starter at tackle.

DeBose isn't the only Alabama transfer on the Vanderbilt offense. Former Tide receiver Cole Adams also transferred to Vanderbilt this offseason and will have a bigger role for the Commodores offensively than he did in Tuscaloosa.

The success of Vanderbilt's offense will ultimately ride on the arm of Curtis, who was a huge recruiting win for Lea and his staff. Curtis is a consensus five-star player and one of the top overall players in the class of 2026 by all the major recruiting outlets. Starting as a true freshmen at quarterback in the SEC is not an easy task, but Curtis wanted that role.

Defense

In addition to being the head coach, Lea also called the defense in 2024. He gave up that role last season and hired Steve Gregory as defensive coordinator. Gregory now enters his second year leading the Vanderbilt defense and has a lot of players returning to build upon the foundation he laid last season.

The Commodores have key returners at every level of the defense. Vanderbilt brings back its interceptions leader Martel Hight and sacks leader Miles Capers. In an interview with Vanderbilt on SI, Lea said Hight will be focusing on defense this season after splitting time on offense last year. He had four interceptions and 35 total tackles while also serving as Vanderbilt's punt returner.

Capers collected 9.5 tackles for loss, including 4.5 sacks last season and will be a leader defensively as he enters his sixth season with the program. He will be helped by Iowa tranfer Brian Allen Jr.

Safety CJ Heard had a breakout season for Vanderbilt last season after transferring in from Florida Atlantic. He led the team with 71 total tackles and also had two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. He will head up the back end of the Vanderbilt defense.

Up front, 6-3, 340-pound defensive tackle Glenn Seabrooks III is back for his junior season and will line up alongside 6-7, 315-pound nose tackle Issa Ouattara.

Schedule

From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Vanderbilt was traditionally one of Alabama's first conference games of the season, if not the first SEC matchup. The Crimson Tide and Commodores meeting so late in the schedule doesn't feel right, but it should set up an exciting matchup.

Vanderbilt has an easy non-conference slate, all at home, against Austin Peay, Delaware and NC State. The Commodores should start the season 3-0, but things will only get more challenging from there.

SEC play begins on the road at Auburn before a two-game stretch against teams that made the College Football Playoff last season in Georgia and Ole Miss. However, the next three teams on the schedule (Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi State) finished with a combined three wins in SEC play last season.

The game with the Crimson Tide starts a tough three-game stretch for the Commodores to close out the season: Alabama, at Florida and Tennessee at home. That stretch could determine whether 2026 can be a great season for Vanderbilt.

Outlook

After what happened in 2024, overlooking Vanderbilt shouldn't be a problem for the Crimson Tide this season. With this game happening so late in the season, there will likely be SEC and College Football Playoff implications on the line.

With it being an early kickoff, Alabama will have to come out ready to go. So much will change between now and mid-November, but I think the Crimson Tide will get the win in Nashville.

The Game

Date: Nov. 14

Time: TBD (Early window starting at either 11 a.m. or noon CT)

TV: TBD

Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

Series history: Alabama leads, 64-19-4

Last meeting: Alabama beat Vanderbilt 30-14 inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, avenging the loss from the previous season. The game was closer than the final score indicated. It was a tie 14-14 game at halftime. The Tide scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, capped by a Jam Miller touchdown run with 17 seconds left.

The Team

Coach: Clark Lea, sixth season, 26-36 record

Offensive coordinator: Tim Beck (third season)

Defensive coordinator: Steve Gregory (second season)

2025 record: 10-3 (6-2 SEC)

2025 rankings: Total offense (9th), Total defense (57th)

Returning Starters

11 (5 on offense, 5 on defense, 1 on special teams)

Players to Watch

RB Sedrick Alexander, WR Braylon Stayley, EDGE Miles Capers, DB Martel Hight

Top Newcomer

Freshman QB Jared Curtis

Biggest Question

What does Vanderbilt look like without Diego Pavia?

The School

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Founded: 1873

Enrollment: 13,670

Nickname: Commodores

Colors: Black and gold

Mascot: Mr. Commodore

The Program

Last time beat Alabama: 2024

Last time won SEC: Never

National championships: None

Playoff Appearances: None

Conference championships: 14 (SIAA: 1897, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1915, 1921, SoCon: 1922, 1923)

Bowl record (last appearance): 5-5-1 (2025 ReliaQuest Bowl)

Last season missed bowl: 2023

Heisman trophies: None

2026 NFL Draft:

TE Eli Stowers (Round 2, Pick 54 Philadelphia Eagles)

Last Four Recruiting Class Rankings

No. 32 (2026), No. 51 (2025), No. 42 (2024), No. 69 (2023)

The Schedule

Sept. 5: vs. Austin Peay
Sept. 12: vs. Delaware
Sept. 19: vs. NC State
Sept. 26: at Auburn
Oct. 3: at Georgia
Oct. 10: vs. Ole Miss
Oct. 17: vs. Arkansas
Oct. 24: at Kentucky
Nov. 7: at Mississippi State
Nov. 14: vs. Alabama
Nov. 21: at Florida
Nov. 28: vs. Tennessee

This is the tenth story in BamaCentral's summer preview series of all 12 regular-season opponents for Alabama football in 2025. Ensuing stories will be published throughout June and early July.

2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 1: East Carolina

2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 2: Kentucky

2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 3: Florida State

2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 4: South Carolina

2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 5: Mississippi State

2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 6: Georgia

2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 7: Tennessee

2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 8: Texas A&M

2026 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 9: LSU

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