A new week brings Alabama football another challenge. The road win over the Georgia Bulldogs was a 'turn the corner' game. That momentum would have crashed with a back-to-back loss to Vandy. Instead, the Crimson Tide faces another road test, rising a swell of momentum.
In conversations with Alabama football fans, I found some shared by displeasure in the media theme that Alabama got a revenge win against the Commodores. I suspect that almost every Alabama fan wanted a win to shut up Diego Pavia, but that is not revenge. Pavia's brash talk deserved some humbling and it was satisfying that Crimson Tide players provided it.
But, revenge was not the right word for the win. That implies Vanderbilt being on a nearly equal level to the Crimson Tide, and the Commodores are not, and have not been for almost seven decades. More likely is that the 2024 Vandy win was a fluke occurrence, much like their 1984 and 1969 wins.
This perspective intends no discredit to Vanderbilt University and Clark Lea. He is a good coach, doing a tremendous job and handling himself well in the process. Even Johnny Manziel on the sideline cannot taint the positive impact Lea is making.
Alabama Football and Missouri
Moving on to the Missouri Tigers, Alabama needs another 'get right' win. Even though Alabama beat back a Kalen DeBoer road game curse by winning in Athens, the threat still lingers. For DeBoer, there are no lasting 'get right' wins until the Crimson Tide wins a National Championship in his tenure. Beating a ranked Missouri team in Columbia would, at the least, be momentum-sustaining. And it would be a much better springboard for the Third Saturday in October than losing to Missouri, followed by the hype of another revenge game.
Alabama football fans have good reasons to anticipate continued success this season. Players are performing better; Kalen DeBoer and Kane Wommack are coaching better. Ryan Grubb's game plans and play-calling are sharp. And Ty Simpson is playing himself into being one of college football's top QBs.
Comments from DeBoer, Grubb, and Simpson about the Vandy game were evidence of a team mindset that Alabama must continue to improve. Simpson took responsibility for the Alabama offense having too many negative plays, saying, "... it’s really my fault. I'm looking at the stats. We had too many negative plays…I took four sacks. Like, I can't do that. I got to throw the ball away." His words, and words from DeBoer and Grubb, carried far more meaning than any revenge game win theme.