The stories of underdog teams clawing their way to monumental, even program-changing victories are exactly what makes college football one of the most entertaining sports in the world. College Football Week Six saw four top-ten teams lose, including #1 Alabama. The last time this happened was Nov. 12, 2016 when five top-ten teams lost on the same day.
The top-ten teams that fell this week were: #10 Michigan (27-17 against NR Washington), #9 Missouri (41-10 against #25 Texas A&M), #4 Tennessee (19-14 against NR Arkansas) and finally #1 Alabama (40-35 against NR Vanderbilt). All four games were upsets in their own rights, and they will all equally shake up the landscape of college football as we start to look toward the 12-team playoff. However, the most shocking result out of all of these games was easily Vanderbilt’s victory over Alabama.
Alabama has developed a reputation as the villain of college football, with a number of their National Championships led by legendary coach Nick Saban. Ahead of this season, Saban announced that he will finally step down as head coach of the Crimson Tide, vacating the throne for former Washington Head Coach, Kalen DeBoer. Many college football fans were eager to see if DeBoer’s Alabama will continue Saban’s reign of greatness, or if the magical dynasty will finally crumble. Fans soon found out, after an unbelievable victory against the then #1 Georgia Bulldogs, that Alabama’s dynasty will keep chugging on, snagging the #1 ranking entering their date in Nashville with the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Vanderbilt, on the other hand, has developed a reputation for being one of if not the laughing stock of power five football; they entered this season looking for their first winning year since 2013. The Commodores came into this matchup with a modest 2-2 record but were 22.5-point underdogs against the mighty Crimson Tide. However, Senior Quarterback Diego Pavia had something to say about that.
In the shootout victory that saw 812 yards of total offense between the two teams, Pavia boasted an 80 percent completion percentage against a stout Alabama secondary. He also threw for 252 yards and tacked on two touchdowns for good measure. In fact, Vanderbilt never trailed in this game, dominating from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, and Diego Pavia’s performance was a big reason why.
After the game, Pavia delivered an emotional on-field interview while fans stormed the field. The night provided an unforgettable interview about an unforgettable game that will live in the hearts of everyone in Nashville and beyond.