2026 Vanderbilt Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 10: Alabama
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The last time Vanderbilt and Alabama met in FirstBank Stadium, something that nobody could have sincerely predicted happened.
Vanderbilt upset a No. 1 ranked Alabama team 40-35 in a game that changed the course of Vanderbilt’s football program for good. The Commodores were in the limelight of national college football relevancy behind quarterback Diego Pavia as he led Vanderbilt to a 7-6 2024 season, including a Birmingham Bowl victory.
Although Alabama did get revenge against Vanderbilt in 2025, the Commodores still managed to have a historic 10-3 season. It marked the first 10-win season in Vanderbilt football history. Now, it is a new era for Vanderbilt and Alabama gets a close-up look at the new-look Commodores this November.
The Crimson Tide returned to the place that it was stunned two years ago. This time, Vanderbilt will have all the respect and attention of Alabama. The two schools face off in a mid-November game. It could very well be a game that impacts the postseason picture to some degree.
Until then, it is time to take a look at this year’s Alabama team and the program as a whole.
Offense
It is a quarterback competition in Tuscaloosa. Alabama does not yet have a starting quarterback named for the season. Will it be the former five-star Keelon Russell or will it be the veteran Austin Mack, who followed DeBoer from Washington.
Back in the spring, reports and indications showed that Russell had played better in Alabama’s spring game, but DeBoer pushed back on the sentiment later on by saying the quarterback competition was far from decided.
The quarterback play of Alabama will without a doubt determine a lot of how its season will look like. The Crimson Tide was rather inconsistent offensively with Ty Simpson at quarterback in 2025. Alabama was explosive the first half of the season, but had a steady decline in the back half of the season and into the postseason. The defense did a good job in making up for that, but it may not have that kind of luxury this season.
Alabama only has three returning starters on offense: wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, tight end Kaleb Edwards and offensive lineman Michael Carroll.
The positive, however, is Alabama is bringing five-star running back Ezavier Crowell and four-star wide receiver Cederian Morgan. The Crimson Tide also have four-star offensive lineman Bryson Cooley and Chris Booker on the roster, though it will be interesting to see how much of a role they have.
Alabama did address offensive needs in the transfer portal, too. To shore up the offensive line, the Crimson Tide added Ty Haywood from Michigan, Nick Brooks from Texas, Jayvin James from Mississippi State and others.
Alabama’s notable weapon it added was former NC State wide receiver Noah Rogers. The lack of offensive playmakers the Crimson Tide got seems to show that there will be an emphasized reliance on Coleman-Williams and Morgan lining up on the outside. But if those two along with Rogers pans out, Alabama may just have a solid receiving corps.
Defense
Despite an inconsistent offense, Alabama had one of the best defenses in the country in 2025. The Crimson Tide were 13th in the country behind Kane Wommack calling the defense. Alabama allowed under 300 yards per game and just 19 points per game.
The bad news, however, is that Alabama only has four returning defensive starters this year. But the Crimson Tide does have young defensive talent coming in with five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin, five-star safety Jireh Edwards and four-star cornerback Jorden Edmonds.
In the transfer portal, Alabama picked up defensive lineman transfer Devan Thompkins from USC, Oregon defensive line transfer Terrance Green and Virginia Tech linebacker Caleb Woodson.
The question for Alabama defensively is can the defensive lineman it brought in produce and make things happen the way the Crimson Tide and Wommack are used to seeing. If so, then Alabama’s defense has a chance to be one of the better defenses in the country. Another question is how much will Alabama’s talented defensive freshman produce. If the five-stars and four-stars live up to their ratings, the Crimson Tide will be tough to match up against defensively.
Schedule
Alabama begins the home season against East Carolina before going on the road to Kentucky in the second week of the season. Going to Lexington in the middle of September could be a trap game for the Crimson Tide.
Outside of that, Alabama has a grueling stretch in October through the start of November. It takes on Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU back-to-back for a month straight. That may be one of the hardest stretches in all of college football this fall. It does get better to end the season with a game against Chattanooga before rivalry week against Auburn.
Outlook
Alabama’s season is going to depend a lot on its quarterback situation and how sustainable it looks. Whether Russell or Mack wins the job, he will have to play well enough to meet the fanbase’s expectations. The standard in Tuscaloosa is sky high like usual, but this season could go a number of ways for the Crimson Tide.
The floor for Alabama, though, should be a team that gets around seven or eight wins. But the expectation is to start to return to normalcy in the program. This is Kalen DeBoer’s team now. He has his quarterback(s) and the roster is made up of a lot of his guys.
As for this game, the early start may help Vanderbilt in that it gets fans buzzing and going to the stadium early in the day. But for the outlook of the game itself, this is going to be one of Vanderbilt’s most difficult games of the season, but Alabama has struggled on the road in the SEC under DeBoer, so maybe Vanderbilt could use that to its advantage.
The Game
Date: Nov. 14
Time: Early slate (11 a.m. to noon CT kickoff time)
TV: TBD
Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Series history: Alabama leads 61-20-4
Last meeting: Alabama beat Vanderbilt 30-14 in 2025
The Team
Coach: Kalen DeBoer, third season, 20-8
Offensive coordinator: Ryan Grubb
Defensive coordinator: Kane Wommack
2025 record: 11-4 (7-1 SEC)
2025 rankings: 82nd in total offense, 13th in total defense
Top Newcomer: Devan Thompkins, defensive lineman transfer from USC
Biggest Question: Kalen DeBoer has his own roster now. Can he get Alabama back to its usual standard or will the program decline a little more?
The School
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Founded: 1831
Enrollment: 42,360 total students
Nickname: Crimson Tide
Colors: Crimson and white
Mascot: Big Al the Elephant
The Program
Last win in series: Alabama beat Vanderbilt 30-14 in 2025.
FBS championships: 18 claimed national championships
FBS Playoff Appearances: nine
The Schedule
September 5: vs. East Carolina
September 12: at Kentucky
September 19: vs. Florida State
September 26: vs. South Carolina
October 3: at Mississippi State
October 10: vs. Georgia
October 17: at Tennessee
October 24: vs. Texas A&M
November 7: at LSU
November 14: at Vanderbilt
November 21: vs. Chattanooga
November 28: vs. Auburn
This is the 10th story in Vanderbilt on SI's early preview series of all 12 regular-season opponents for Vanderbilt football in 2026
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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