Alabama fans were furious with Kane Wommack during the first half of Alabama's matchup with Vanderbilt, but the much-maligned defensive coordinator earned his paycheck with halftime adjustments that shut down Diego Pavia and the Vanderbilt offense.
With Alabama's offense struggling inside the Vanderbilt 30 and having to settle for three second-half field goals, it was the Tide's defense that came up with big play after big play to keep the Commodores off the scoreboard.
With the game tied at 14 going into the locker room and Vanderbilt getting the football to open the third quarter, Alabama needed its defense to come up with a stop or two. It opened the second half with back-to-back, getting off the field twice in only seven total plays by Vanderbilt.
Unfortunately, Alabama's offense could only manage two field goals to take a 20-14 lead. With the defense needing at least one more big play, Keon Sabb stepped in front of a Pavia pass in the redzone and picked it off for the defense's second forced turnover of the day.
That interception allowed Alabama to go on a back-breaking 16-play, 69-yard drive for a field goal to give the Crimson Tide a two-possession lead that effectively put Vanderbilt away.
Alabama's defense held Vanderbilt to just 13 rushing yards in the second half
Give Kane Wommack his flowers for Alabama defense's second half performance
Alabama fans have what would be best described as a tenuous relationship with defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.
He took a lot of flak for the team's performance in last year's loss to Vanderbilt. He took even more in this year's loss to Florida State. The defense was leaky at times against Georgia, too, though they did the same thing a week ago in making plays when it mattered.
Alabama's offense has combined to score just 16 second-half points the last two weeks. But the defense has only given up one single touchdown, coming a week ago to Georgia. Wommack's inability to make in-game adjustments has been a big flaw of is, but you have to give him his flowers for what he's been able to do the last two weeks.
He took away Pavia's ability to run the football this year. He hit a 36-yard run in the first quarter, but outside of that was held to 22 rushing yards on 11 attempts. They were determined to make Pavia beat them with his arm, and he couldn't do it.
The next step for Kalen DeBoer and his team will be playing complementary football. With the way the defense performed in the second half, Alabama should have blown the game open and won by 20+. Alabama's inability to execute in Vanderbilt territory on Saturday could have proved costly if it wasn't for some timely stops by the defense.