3 keys to defensive success for Alabama Football against Vanderbilt

Alabama Football will be looking to avoid a potential trap game against the Vanderbilt Commodores after an emotional victory over the Georgia Bulldogs last weekend in one of the most highly anticipated games of the 2024 regular season.

Any team would be due for a letdown after that win, and we've yet to see how a Kalen DeBoer coached team will handle success. The doubt about whether the Crimson Tide would be the same in a post Nick Saban world fueled them to this point, but there's plenty of rat poison out there now with Alabama moving to No. 1 in the AP Poll.

Kane Wommack's defense played an outstanding first half against Georgia, but struggled to get off the field in the second half and surrendered three straight touchdown drives before freshman CB Zabien Brown made the game sealing interception.

The team was obviously amped to a big degree against Georgia, and they'll need to refocus on the road this week in Nashville.

Here's three things the Crimson Tide needs to do defensively in order to have sustained success.

3. Success on early downs

Vanderbilt likes to run the football and stay on schedule. The 'Dores have a 56% success rate on early downs, but that dips to 27% on passing downs.

Alabama did a great job defensively stopping Georgia's run, but Vanderbilt will have more of a east-west approach instead of the north-south running game of the Bulldogs.

The 'Dores will run a variation of a flexbone type of offense with triple-option principles. You'll see a lot of read-option looks at the line and then QB Diego Pavia sprinting to the edge with a wide receiver who came in motion into the backfield at the snap.

It'll mean a lot of miles to cover for Tide linebackers Jihaad Campbell and Deontae Lawson running sideline-to-sideline, and it'll mean the young defensive backs will need to get off blocks and make plays.

2. Create havoc plays

Vanderbilt doesn't allow a ton of havoc plays from opposing defenses; they've only given up seven sacks in four games and have just one turnover on the season.

One of their strengths is a veteran offensive line that features three graduate seniors, one regular senior, and a redshirt junior. They do a good job of keeping Pavia upright and he's a tough player to bring to the ground in any case.

We finally saw Wommack show his hand against Georgia, particularly in the first half. Alabama sent several all-out blitzes that we didn't see the first three games. But it would be nice to see the Tide's defense start to get a little more pressure on the QB just rushing four guys.

We still don't know the status of Alabama's injuries and won't until Wednesday night, so it's up in the air on whether Qua Russaw will be able to play again this week. Que Robinson and Keanu Koht will look to get some edge pressure, and we could see more playing time for someone like Yhonzae Pierre to try to and manufacture pressure without blitzing.

If Alabama can get to the quarterback and potentially force a turnover or two, then they might be able to build a big enough lead early that removes the 'Dores' hopes of a potential upset.

1. Contain Pavia

Vanderbilt's offense revolves entirely around Diego Pavia. On average, 60% of Vanderbilt's plays are either a pass or Pavia run. He's the leading rusher and has carried the ball 20 more times than starting running back Sedrick Alexander.

Pavia is a slippery guy and sometimes the worst thing you can do is bring too much pressure and lose contain because then he can slip out and make a big play with his feet. Wommack might be apprehensive to blitz much as a result, which makes my point above about getting pressure with four all the more important.

It'll be equally important to rush without losing contain, which takes a lot of discipline.

Pavia is similar to USF's Byrum Brown, a QB who gave Alabama a lot of problems with his legs two years in a row. The difference is that Pavia is a more gifted passer than Brown, and can make Alabama pay for coverage mistakes.

If Alabama can contain and get after Pavia, it could be a long afternoon for the Commodores at home. If not, then Pavia could have Tide fans pulling their hair out as the game remains competitive into the fourth quarter.