Alabama Football opponent previews: Vanderbilt offense

Fresh off of a big win over Georgia at home, Alabama Football hits the road north to Nashville to face the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Clark Lea is in his fourth season as the Vanderbilt head coach, and he's made tangible progress in 2024. In a year he entered on the hot seat, Lea led his 'Dores to a signature win to open the season against Virginia Tech, a popular preseason pick to win the ACC, and a team that nearly toppled undefeated Miami last week.

Vanderbilt has played in three comptitive games, beating Virginia Tech in overtime, blowing out Alcorn State, and then losing a close game on the road to Georgia State before an overtime loss to Missouri.

Vandy took the bye week to regroup following consecutive losses, and make no mistakes they will have a gameplan to attack the Crimson Tide. They are well coached, and Alabama will need to refocus and avoid the rat poison after such an emotional win over the Bulldogs.

Vanderbilt's entire offense revolves around New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia. You probably remember him from leading his Aggies to a win at Jordan-Hare Stadium last season. His head coach, Jerry Kill, resigned from his post and took a consultant position with Vanderbilt, luring his QB with him to Nashville.

Pavia is a gamer, unafraid to put it all on the line to win a game or just gain an extra yard. He has completed just under 64% of his passes for 721 yards and six touchdowns to no interceptions. He's also the team's leading rusher with 279 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He runs the ball on average of 18 times per game. Based on Vandy's average amount of plays per game, Pavia has the ball in his hands for a throw or run 60% of the time.

Sophomore Sedrick Alexander is the team's second leading rusher with 217 yards and three touchdowns on a little over four yards per carry.

When Pavia throws, his favorite target is another New Mexico State transfer, tight end Eli Stowers. He has 19 catches for 220 yards and a touchdown this season. He's the only receiver on the team with double-digit catches.

Quincy Skinner Jr. and Junior Sherrill are the team's leading wide receivers.

Pavia can throw it, but the Commodores prefer to use the ground game. They'll want to slow the game down against Alabama and keep Jalen Milroe and the high powered Crimson Tide offense on the sideline for as long as possible.

The 'Dores have a highly experienced offensive line with three graduate students, a senior, and a redshirt junior starting up front.

Vanderbilt likes to stay on schedule, and they have a 56% success rate on standard downs. That drops to just 27% on passing down, so if the Crimson Tide can force third-and-longs, the defense should be able to get off the field. Vandy is only converting around 38% of the time on third down; Alabama is the No. 2 third down defense in the nation, but let's not talk about what happens on fourth down.

Pavia will not be intimidated against Alabama. He'll come into the game like he always does and expect to play well and win. He's only been sacked seven times in four games, and if Alabama wants to have success defensively, they'll need to create some havoc plays against a team that rarely allows them.

Pavia has some similarities to USF QB Byrum Brown, though I think Pavia is a better passer. But like Brown did two years in a row, Pavia can be frustrating to stop when he chooses to run. Preventing him from breaking contain and making plays that extend drives will be a key point of emphasis for Kane Wommack's defense.

The Vanderbilt scheme will be different than any Alabama has seen this year so far, and it will take eye discipline from a young Tide secondary. They utilize a lot of jet motions that ultimately turns into a modern-day flexbone. They'll do a read at the line and then Pavia will go with a receiver to the edge with the option to keep it or pitch it.

When they throw it, it is typically out of RPO looks.

Alabama obviously has a significant talent advantage, but this won't be an easy scheme to prepare for, especially with a young secondary littered with a lot of new faces. The front seven will need to control the game or the 'Dores could have more success offensively than most seem to think possible.