Alabama Players Not Repeating Previous 'Gaps' in Handling Success

The Crimson Tide learned the hard way last season that it did not handle success after its win over Georgia well enough.

Oct 5, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores cornerback Kolbey Taylor (6) hits Alabama Crimson Tide tight end Josh Cuevas (80) after a made catch during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— As it did last season, Alabama football defeated Georgia over the weekend, triumphing 24-21 in Athens. Also like last season, Vanderbilt is next on the Crimson Tide's schedule. On October 5, 2024, the Commodores upset Alabama one week after the latter beat Georgia.

It was the first time Vanderbilt had beaten the Crimson Tide in 40 years. The upset served as a major gut check in year one of the Kalen DeBoer era. One of the prevailing narratives surrounding the outcome was that Alabama had not taken the Commodores seriously enough.

"I think last year, we kind of had little gaps in handling our success. I think this year we're just kind of hammering on that," tight end Josh Cuevas said Tuesday. "Handling success, like not getting a big head, just because last year we ended up getting ranked No. 1 after that Georgia game. Just stuff like that."

Because of the Crimson Tide's loss in the season opener at Florida State, during which Cuevas caught a touchdown pass, that particular item was not in the cards this year. The victory over Georgia moved Alabama (3-1, 1-0 SEC) from No. 17 to No. 10 in the AP Poll.

"[We're] just hammering out details," Cuevas said. "Just kind of keeping it within the team. Just kind of hammering away at what we need to hammer away at. And just seeing, where are areas that we may have missed on last year?"

The book is out on where the Crimson Tide fell short last fall. An energized Vanderbilt team, presently unbeaten and having put the cracks in 2024 Alabama's armor on full display, will be looking to exploit weaknesses once again. There's no flying under the radar this season. The Commodores are ranked No. 16 nationally, and ESPN's "College GameDay" will be in Tuscaloosa for the matchup (2:30 p.m. CT, ABC).

"People coming to play Alabama, everybody, we're gonna get everybody's best shot," Cuevas said. "Going into those games, we know that, and we know that we have a target on our back. Especially being, I mean, when we were the No. 1 team. Everybody's trying to take out number one, so I'm sure that played some part in their motivation to go and play us."

Multiple key players from 2024's Vanderbilt squad remain, including high-profile quarterback Diego Pavia and All-SEC tight end Eli Stowers. They, of course, know firsthand what went down last October. So do members of the Crimson Tide's roster who experienced the seismic defeat.

"I felt how it was last year," quarterback Ty Simpson said. "We remember. We remember what happened last year. What are we gonna do about it? Even though it's not about last year, it's about us, we're not gonna make the same mistake again. They're not the same team... Neither are we."

The game of football requires focus, which is sometimes dependent on shelving past results away from the front of one's mind. Riding too high after a big win is a danger. So is fixating too intently on a bad loss. For both the winning and losing sides of last year's Alabama-Vanderbilt game, however, the whole thing is impossible to erase, for different reasons.

"It's hard to just throw that one out," linebacker Deontae Lawson said. "Our mindset is completely different than it was last year. We're looking forward to this year."