Breaking Down Alabama Football With BamaCentral’s Will Miller

No. 16 Vanderbilt is heading down to Tuscaloosa for a rematch of last season’s stunning upset where it took down a top-ranked Alabama team 40-35. But this season, the situation is much different. Vanderbilt is 5-0 and has earned the respect of the Crimson Tide as the two schools gear up for a game that could have postseason implications.

Vanderbilt Commodores On SI’s Graham Baakko talked to Alabama beat writer Will Miller of BamaCentral to breakdown Saturday’s game. Here is everything Miller had to say as he broke down Alabama.

The vibe around the player seems to be ‘we're actually taking Vanderbilt seriously this time.’ Is that the vibe that you're getting as well this week?

“I do think so. Part of them is not going to just come out and say it because you want to, A, be respectful to your opponent. B, I don't know how many people would love just directly admitting the level of egg that Alabama laid last year in Nashville. C, we've heard the cliched coach speak ‘oh, we have to take each opponent with the same level of seriousness. Each game has the same level of importance. Each game is the same as if we were playing our biggest, most hated rival in the national championship, or playing an FCS game in the middle of November,’ when you and I both know that that's not necessarily the case. And I mean Alabama didn't place the same kind of weight on the Vanderbilt game last year as they did, for example, the game against Georgia the week before. You saw the ramifications and the results of that, and they don't want to repeat that. I know Kalen DeBoer specifically is probably like, ‘we cannot have this happen again’ after he was riding so high and felt like on top of the world after the end of last September. In my story yesterday, I wrote about the players' mentality and the players' focus from the availability. I use the phrase ‘gut check,’ and I think that's exactly what happened in Nashville. They don't want to have that happen again against the Vanderbilt team that I really think is better. I mean, they're not surprising anybody. They're not hiding from anybody.”

Vanderbilt's defense, the tendency they have is to start slow, but then once the game sort of gets settled in, they get into a rhythm, and they just sort of dominate their opponents is what their tendency has been. So how do you feel like that matchup plays out?

“Yeah, Vanderbilt's defense is very underrated. I don't think Vanderbilt's defense gets as much love as they could. A lot of that will be influenced by their performance this weekend and how they respond to this Alabama offense. You saw Alabama last week against Georgia put a lot on display in terms of maybe some new faces like Isaiah Horton, who was not on the team last year. And he had a good game against Georgia. I mean, there's new pieces that fit into this game in a way that I think people aren't talking about because of who all is returning that was on these two teams last year. And I think from the Alabama offensive standpoint, it's just different looks that they can show the Vanderbilt defense. You know, different kinds of packages. I mean, you look at Isaiah Horton, for example. A receiver of that size, and what he can do athletically. It's a different look than what Vanderbilt saw last year. To me that's just one facet. But that's what I think the big question is going to be, how are the new pieces going to stack up against one another?”

How do you feel like Alabama with its route running and their weapons will play out against Vanderbilt's defense?

“It can't be overstated the importance of having options. It's really any sport, right? And for Alabama, the wide receiver room, it's been talked about throughout camp and in the build up to this season. One of the deepest groups on the team, and they've had their problems. Your drops are becoming an issue, particularly for Ryan Williams, that's got to be cleaned up. You're playing a ranked SEC opponent, that can't happen. You just want to use what you have to your advantage. And in Alabama's case, yeah, I mean, that is multiple different people, multiple different threats. You want to get everybody involved that you can. Ty Simpson's playing poise, Ty Simpson's playing confident. Ty Simpson's playing like he's been starting for three years, right, instead of just three weeks or so. That is another factor that plays big, and is Alabama's advantage. Diego Pavia obviously wins that experience battle by a mile. But Ty Simpson is playing on a level right now that I think people maybe thought that he couldn’t reach this soon into the year. And so he's got the ability to work these guys into the game plan and do so without getting into his head and without making unforced errors, which he hasn't done so far this year.”

Alabama's defense, you got Qua Russaw out. You got Jah-Marien Latham out. And then you also have James Smith, with the targeting, he's out for the first half. So how worried should Alabama's defense and maybe Alabama fans be about Vanderbilt's ability of possibly taking advantage of that?

“We saw where Vanderbilt beat Alabama. Last year they gashed Alabama in the running game. So that's where my attention immediately goes. And with those players absent, I mean, James Smith missing is a big deal. Tim Keenan, coming back from injury. They are going to need him to have an impact. Because if Vanderbilt can run the ball like they did last year, Vanderbilt is going to have a chance to win this football game. Alabama knows that, but it's a lot easier to grapple with that when you've got everybody available for 60 minutes of the football game, which they obviously don't. I think the big loss, obviously, is Qua Russaw. The specific positions of those guys for this matchup specifically, is kind of where the question marks and the red flags start to go up if you're Alabama. And I think that's the biggest thing. Vanderbilt knows what they can do to beat Alabama. And if it ain't broke, I don't really know if I would expect a super different game plan from Vanderbilt.”

Have you but have you seen anything over the past three games from Alabama's defense that makes you think that they could possibly improve at stopping one of these mobile quarterbacks?

“They still haven't really shored up their run defense completely, in my opinion, and that's been the biggest area of concern for this defense so far this season. And a lot of people thought this past game for Alabama was when you're going to see whether the team was for real or not, whether their rebound after Florida State was a mirage. I think this coming weekend is the game where you're going to see just how much Alabama has really been adept with fixing its run defense, with hitting that hard in practice, and because teams are going to make plays in the SEC. Georgia had a couple of big runs. It didn't end up costing Alabama the game or anything like that. You can live with that, but a team like Vanderbilt is going to be doing it a lot more like I said. If they trot one of those out and it works, you're going to maybe be seeing a lot of, like a ghost of your past so to speak. Because they're going to keep doing it and doing it. And if Alabama can't stop the run, it really could be another long night. But you are going to see just how much more capable they are at stopping the run this week. And you have a quarterback who's got the ability and the propensity to run. I mean he's a really sensational player. He gets a lot of the love and a lot of the attention, but he's not the only weapon that Vanderbilt has offensively, and he's not the only weapon they have in the run game.”

If you had to give a prediction as to how this game will go. What do you think is going to happen?

“I think we're going to see a different football game. I think we're going to see an Alabama defense that very plainly, is going to make adjustments, whether they be schematically, formationally or otherwise from last year. Because the book is out, and Alabama just doesn't want this to happen again. I think Alabama wins the game probably by 14 to 17. I really feel like this could be a situation where you have one of those contests where, as it wears on, if Alabama can make its mark defensively, I think they have the ability to wear Vanderbilt down.”