Coaches won't need to litter the football facility with rat traps this year to get Alabama players to take Vanderbilt seriously. This is not a "trap" game this time around. It's just another big game. Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt have earned Alabama's respect and full, undivided attention.
A year ago, Alabama got caught sleepwalking in Nashville. The Crimson Tide had moved up to No. 1 in the AP Poll after a thrilling win over Georgia the week before. After an opening drive touchdown by Pavia and company, followed by a Jalen Milroe pick-six, the Tide found themselves down 13-0 almost as soon as they stepped off the bus. They spent the rest of the afternoon battling from behind, but couldn't quite get over the hump in a deflating 40-35 defeat.
Alabama players and fans were embarrassed by the loss. The reality, however, was that Vanderbilt was a much better football team than anyone gave them credit for at that point. Fast forward one year later, and Vanderbilt isn't sneaking up on anyone anymore. The Commodores have earned the respect of Alabama - and everyone else.
Vanderbilt is 5-0 and ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll. This year, it's one of the biggest games in the country. College GameDay is in Tuscaloosa for the matchup.
Last year, Alabama didn't think Vanderbilt was good enough to beat them. This year, Alabama knows Vanderbilt is good enough to win this game.
Deontae Lawson and LT Overton praise Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
There's a much different tone this year in the lead-up to the Vanderbilt game. You can tell the 'Dores have Alabama's attention. You can also tell that the Crimson Tide knows they are in for a 60-minute fist fight.
“We know how capable Vanderbilt is,” LT Overton told reporters on Tuesday. “We never really doubted them as being a terrible team in the first place."
"They’re not a team that should be taken for granted. They’re a good-ass SEC team, and it’s gonna be a good game.”
Alabama's mindset has been to treat every team the same way. No game is bigger than any other. Following the loss to Florida State, every game became critical. We've seen that in the Tide's performance against UL Monroe, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Alabama brought the requisite effort and intensity in all three of those games.
Alabama will have to play at a high level to beat Vanderbilt this year. This isn't - hopefully - the same Alabama team in terms of mentality as it was a year ago. But this also isn't the same Vanderbilt team. The 'Dores are even better this year. Diego Pavia is one of the best quarterbacks in college football. He's a gamer, full of confidence, and fully expecting to walk into Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday afternoon and leaving with a victory.
His legs are a problem, but his maturation as a passer makes him even more difficult to defend this season. Pavia is 3rd in the country in QBR, and he's already over halfway to his passing yards total from a season ago.
"He’s just a playmaker," Deontae Lawson told reporters about Pavia. "Can get it done with his legs, and like I said, is really improved as a passer. He’s elite, and we’ve definitely got to limit him.”
Stopping Pavia and Vanderbilt's creative, motion-based offense is much easier said than done. But Alabama won't be caught off guard this time around. Vanderbilt has Alabama's full attention, which is perhaps the greatest compliment you can pay to what Clark Lea, Jerry Kill, and Pavia have built in Nashville.