Vanderbilt Opens as Significant Underdog Against Alabama

NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt football is a 13.5-point underdog as it travels to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama.

The Commodores took down No. 1 Alabama last season in a game that seemingly put it on national radar and catapulted it into a 7-6 finish and a Birmingham Bowl win. Now, they’ll look to repeat their success with a statement win in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. Vanderbilt is off to a 5-0 start in 2025 after wins over South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Georgia State, Utah State and Charleston Southern. It’s the first time that the Commodores have been 5-0 since the 2008 season.

Vanderbilt was ranked No. 18 in the country ahead of its Saturday win over Utah State in which it ultimately ended with a 55-35 win on the back of 321 passing yards and six total touchdowns from quarterback Diego Pavia. It’s got a chance to make a statement with a Saturday win over Alabama and hasn’t backed down from the opportunity.

“Tuscaloosa will be a good time,” Pavia said after Vanderbilt’s Saturday win over Utah State, nearly a year after Vanderbilt’s 2024 win over Alabama. “This is why you come to the SEC, for big games like this. We’ll be really excited to go down there and check them out.”

Alabama was ranked No. 17 in the country ahead of its Saturday showdown with Georgia. The Crimson Tide are 3-1 on the season with their only loss coming in their opener against Florida State after a statement 24-21 win in Athens on Saturday night.

The Commodores changed the outlook surrounding their program last season with their win over Alabama that resulted in a field storming. It was Vanderbilt’s first win over an AP Top five opponent in program history.

Alabama likely won’t be ranked in the top five as Vanderbilt faces it on Saturday, but a win would represent Vanderbilt’s biggest of the 2025 season thus far. It would also prove its worth in the national spotlight.

Clark Lea’s Vanderbilt team has been an underdog in three of its six games this season, including Saturday’s matchup with Alabama. The last time Lea’s program went to Tuscaloosa was 2022, when it lost 55-3 to Bryce Young and the Crimson Tide.

This matchup appears to be far more competitive, though. At the very least, the spread indicates as much. Now, it’s time for Vanderbilt football to go in to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and find out where it’s really at compared to a program like Alabama’s.