After beating Georgia to open SEC play in 2024, Alabama climbed to the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll. In that moment, it felt as though the worry about a potential drop-off after Nick Saban’s retirement was nonsense and that Kalen DeBoer would keep the program rolling. Then, it happened. DeBoer and the Crimson Tide rolled into Nashville and lost to unranked Vanderbilt and Diego Pavia 40-35.
That was the first of four losses to unranked opponents that DeBoer has suffered as the head coach of the Crimson Tide, and it led to a 9-4 finish for Alabama last season. Now, Alabama isn’t the undefeated No. 1 team, but coming off a win over Georgia in Athens last week, Ty Simpson is looking to avoid a similar letdown.
“Even though it’s not about last year, it’s about us,” Simpson told the assembled media after practice on Tuesday, “we are not going to make the same mistake again.”
Ty Simpson on Alabama being locked in against Vanderbilt🔒#alabamafootball #rolltide pic.twitter.com/5AtQxjit9l
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) September 30, 2025
Alabama and Vanderbilt both ranked in head-to-head matchup for 1st time in 88 years
Simpson acknowledged that the circumstances between last year’s loss, when he was the backup to Jalen Milroe, and this year’s matchup in Tuscaloosa are completely different. For one, Vanderbilt is undefeated at 5-0, not coming off consecutive losses to Georgia State and Missouri. Instead, the Commodores, still with Pavia leading the way, are a perfect 5-0 and the No. 16 team in the country
“They’re not the same team as last year, neither are we,” Simpson said, preparing for the fifth start of his collegiate career. “They’re better, and we’re better in some ways. This is a top 25 matchup, (ESPN’s) College Gameday coming in here, this is a really, really good Vanderbilt team, and if not one of the biggest games of the year.”
Vanderbilt has long been a pushover in the SEC. Alabama had won 23 straight matchups dating back to 1984 before last season’s upset, and this year’s contest will be the first with both teams ranked in the Top 25 since 1937. Alabama currently sits at No. 10 in the AP Poll, climbing seven spots with the win over Georgia.
The quarterback is often both the barometer and the thermostat for the locker room, and Simpson appears to be setting the right temperature for Alabama to avoid another upset. However, despite his excellent play through the last three games and scorching hot start against Georgia, he may not have much of a say in whether the Tide avenge last year’s loss. Milroe sure didn’t.
Alabama's run defense could give Pavia a chance
Kane Wommack’s defense has long struggled with athletic, option-heavy quarterbacks. You know how everyone always said that mobile quarterbacks were Saban’s Achilles heel, but in reality, he just lost Johnny Manziel and basically nobody else, so you had to draw some kind of conclusions. Well, Wommack actually has the issues that people said Saban did.
Those issues cropped up again in Week 1 against Florida State, Tommy Castellanos and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, but Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt were the first to expose them. So, if Wommack can’t find a solution for a run defense that allowed 7.2 yards per carry to Georgia on Saturday, the mentality and attention to detail from Simpson and everyone else within the program from Monday-Friday won’t matter, because Pavia will run wild, and Alabama will be in trouble.