In the world of college football, upsets are always lurking around the corner. Just one week removed from a thrilling victory over then-No. 2 Georgia, the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores. This monumental upset sent shockwaves throughout the college football landscape and beyond.
Delving deeper into the numbers behind this incredible outcome reveals some astonishing facts. For Vanderbilt, Saturday’s win marked a historic milestone – their first-ever triumph over a top-ranked program. Moreover, it was the first time the Commodores had scored more than 40 points in a game against a top-five opponent.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia has established himself as a master of the upset. With this win, he became the quarterback with the most victories in games where his team was a 21-plus point underdog over the past 20 seasons, surpassing Eric Dungey and Skylar Thompson.
This loss also places Alabama in rare company, becoming only the fourth No. 1 team in the AP poll era to fall to an unranked opponent the week after defeating a top-2 ranked opponent. The last time this occurred was in 1960, when Minnesota fell to Purdue.
In a remarkable turnaround, Vanderbilt scored 13 points in the first quarter alone, matching their total points across four games against Alabama during Nick Saban’s tenure. The Commodores’ 23-point upset also snapped Alabama’s 23-game winning streak against Vanderbilt, a streak that dated back to 1984.
Furthermore, Vanderbilt’s win ended their 60-game losing streak against AP top-5 opposition, a streak that had stood since 1936. Pavia’s impressive performance, which included a completion rate of 80%, was the highest mark by an opposing quarterback against Alabama since 2010.
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