Notebook: Alabama Buckles Down on Both Sides in Vanderbilt Win

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 10 Alabama football took down No. 16 Vanderbilt 30-14 on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide fell to the Commodores last year in a historic upset in Nashville, but that wasn't the case when Vanderbilt came to Tuscaloosa.

Alabama moves to 4-1, winning every game since the season-opening loss to Florida State in Tallahassee. Head coach Kalen DeBoer and company have shown tremendous growth with each win, as the Crimson Tide continues to strive for improvement.

Here are a few ways that Alabama shined but also struggled against Vanderbilt.

Ty Simpson Stays Composed

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson has grown every week during his first season as the starter. The redshirt junior has shown confidence with each dropback and the accuracy to back it up. However, on the game's opening drive, Simpson threw his first interception of the year.

Simpson completed 91 of 131 pass attempts (69.5 percent) for 1,151 yards and 11 touchdowns before throwing the pick. It was Alabama's first turnover of the season, and the team played four full games before committing one.

But Simpson shook the interception off and stayed composed for the remainder of the game. He finished with 340 passing yards and two touchdowns, while completing 23 of 31 pass attempts (74 percent). He evaded a couple of would-be sacks, and moved in and outside of the pocket before finding open receivers over the middle.

The Return of the Run Game

Alabama's passing attack has been very consistent throughout the season, but for the first four games, the run game never really hit the ground running. Starting running back Jam Miller missed the first three games due to a collarbone injury, and none of the reserves filling in for him rushed for more than 40 yards in a game. Miller came back for the Georgia matchup, but he was limited to 46 yards.

But by the end of the first quarter against Vanderbilt, he had 69 rushing yards on just seven carries. Alabama coaches and players praised Miller during the offseason for his improvements, and that was apparent on Saturday as he finished with 136 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

The Crimson Tide abandoned the run a bit in the second and third quarter, but when Alabama realized this was still a game, DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb made sure to put the ball in Miller's hands to chew the clock. It worked very well, as Vanderbilt had a very difficult time getting the Tide off the field.

Run Defense Overcomes Slow Start

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and running back Sedrick Alexander each scored two total touchdowns during last year's game. These two have been the Commodores' key offensive players this season, and that showed early on Saturday, as Alexander logged a 65-yard touchdown run and Pavia had a 36-yard keeper.

The two of them connected on a couple of shovel passes as well — a play that was kryptonite for Alabama's defense during the historic upset. But after those plays, the Crimson Tide locked down. After rushing for 113 yards in the first quarter, Vanderbilt had 13 in the second, seven in the third and two in the fourth.

Alabama had numerous defenders help shut down the run game, but inside linebacker Justin Jefferson was perhaps the most impressive. The redshirt senior had 14 total tackles, including nine solo and one for loss, while also forcing a fumble while Vanderbilt was in the red zone. For reference, fellow inside linebacker Deontae Lawson had the second-most total tackles with four.

Conor Talty Gets Confidence Boost

Alabama seemed set with a large majority of its position groups and starters shortly before the season opener, but DeBoer and company seemed a bit uncertain about the kicker position. That said, they settled on redshirt sophomore Conor Talty being the starter.

He missed a field goal in his first game against Florida State, but also made one. Talty went 1-for-1 in both the Louisiana Monroe and Wisconsin contests, but was 1-of-2 against Georgia. His misses forced Alabama to be a bit more risky during a couple of these games and go for it on fourth down rather than trying for three points.

Talty missed again on Saturday from 47 yards out, which forced Alabama to go for it on a fourth-and-7 (which it converted), but Alabama didn't give up on Talty. He received a bit of a confidence boost though as he split the uprights on three field goal attempts after the miss. Talty's efforts on Saturday gave him 10 field goal attempts on the year, which is as many as former Alabama kicker Graham Nicholson took all of last season.

TideBits

Legendary former Alabama head coach Nick Saban was recognized during the first quarter, as he'll be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The win moves Kalen DeBoer to 10-0 inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. It's the longest home win streak for an Alabama coach to begin their tenure since Xen Scott won 17 in a row from 1919-1921.

Kickoff temperature was 83 degrees and sunny with just a couple of clouds in the blue sky and a slight breeze

Announced attendance was 100,077

Alabama Captains: quarterback Ty Simpson, center Parker Brailsford, defensive tackle Tim Keenan III and linebacker Deontae Lawson

Officials:

Referee: Daniel Gautreaux
Umpire: Stan Weihe
Head Linesman: Jake Weatherford
Line Judge: Jeremiah Harris
Back Judge: David Ross
Field Judge: Jay Brown
Side Judge: Brandon Spencer
Center Judge: Ron Turner
Replay Official: David Almand