Vanderbilt simply out-coached the Alabama Crimson Tide

There should be no confusion about what happened to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. Alabama was out-coached by the Vanderbilt Commodores football staff. More specifcally, the Vanderbilt offensive brain trust of Tim Beck, Jerry Kill, and other Vanderbilt assistants out-coached Kane Wommack and the Alabama Crimson Tide defensive staff.

One stat pretty much tells the story of the stunning loss. Alabama went into Saturday's game No. 2 in the FBS in opponent third-down conversions. The success rate against the Crimson Tide was 17.19%. Against Alabama, Vanderbilt converted on 12-of-18, third-down possessions for 66.7%.

Vandy quarterback, Diego Pavia had an outstanding game. He did to Alabama what he did to Auburn last season as the New Mexico State QB. He is smart, tough, and confident, but he should not have been able to win a game against the Crimson Tide. Pavia was 16-for-20, for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Pavia added 56 rushing yards. Pavia accounted for over 78% of Vandy's offensive output in the game.

Pavia was not a surprise to Alabama, or if he was it was gross incompetence by the Crimson Tide coaching staff. A few wrinkles may have been new, but an Alabama Football defense, loaded with talent, should have been able to slow Pavia, at least enough to win. It didn't and now Alabama fans are at a loss to understand why.

No heavily favored and highly ranked team should lose after scoring 35 points against an unranked team. The blame does not stop at Kane Wommack. Kalen DeBoer will not be fairly questioned. The Crimson Tide can bounce back, but not with the kind of performance it showed against Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt's Clark Lea will deserve every accolade from the upset win. Through his slog to develop the Commodores into a competitive SEC program, too many people discounted what a good coach Clark Lea is. The Commodores can hopefully build on the shocking victory. After the game, Lea said, "This isn’t the finish point, but it’s a hell of an arrival."

What's next for the Alabama Crimson Tide?

How many steps back did the Crimson Tide take in the loss? That answer will come over the next few Saturdays. Alabama had a margin for error, but much of it was lost against Vanderbilt. Two weeks ahead is an offense, much better than the one Alabama could not stop on Saturday.