What happened to Alabama football’s defense in loss to Vanderbilt?
The Alabama football defense had been dominant on third down.
The first four games of the season, every Crimson Tide opponent struggled on the crucial down.
Before Saturday, Alabama had allowed 11 third downs on 64 attempts, a conversation percentage of 17.2%. That ranked second-best in the country.
Then Vanderbilt found a way to make that third-down defense look obsolete.
The Commodores went 12-for-18 on third down. Yes, Alabama gave up more third-down conversions to Vanderbilt than it had the other four teams (Western Kentucky, South Florida, Wisconsin, Georgia) combined.
The Crimson Tide defense couldn’t get off the field for much of the day. As a result, No. 1 Alabama fell to Vanderbilt 40-35 on Saturday at FirstBank Stadium.
“We’ve got to do a better job of being disciplined,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “Do our job. (Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia) keeps things alive with his feet, whether it was third down or other downs. They converted some third-and-longs. Great execution on their part. Obviously we expect to do good on third down too. We’ve done great things on third down. Been more fourth down. Guys certainly are frustrated about that.”
The third-down conversion rate was one of the most glaring stats for an Alabama defense that often struggled to find answers to Vanderbilt’s option offense.
Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson cited issues in man coverage. Penalties also proved problematic at times when the Crimson Tide was in a position to get off the field.
See more from AL.com’s Crimson Tide beat writers
- Jehiem Oatis releases statement after deciding to transfer from Alabama football
- Diego Pavia: Alabama football players talked trash during coin toss before Vanderbilt loss
- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix laments players redshirting because of playing time after Jehiem Oatis news
- Why can’t Alabama football’s defense get off the field? Kane Wommack talks 3rd down struggles
- ‘Keep fighting’: Kalen DeBoer’s message to Alabama football after Vanderbilt
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Pavia used his arm to pass for 252 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 20 times for 56 yards. The Commodores had 54 carries total, and it could go to a number of guys. Trying to figure out who would run it gave Alabama some problems.
“There’s just multiple options,” Lawson said. “The quarterback … he’s a good player. Some plays we were just getting high leveraged. That created big plays. Just a variety of options they had, running the option. Everything else they do.”
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Alabama also just didn’t make plays when in position at times. Missed tackles proved problematic. So, too, did issues in open field tackling.
A defense that also prides itself on takeaways couldn’t get any. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt scored 13 points off two turnovers, including a pick six. Alabama also didn’t sack Pavia.
“Vandy does a great job of holding the ball,” linebacker Que Robinson said. “Just creating those hard to get plays with the option and stuff. Just held the ball pretty long and tried to keep it away from us, which they did a good job of.”
The Vanderbilt offense kept the defense on the field and dominated time of possession. The Commodores held a 42:08-17:52 edge in that statistic.
It only made matters worse for the defense.
“They continued to wear on us,” DeBoer said. “Stayed on the football field. … Time of possession just continues to wear on your defense when you’re out there that long.”
It showed on the final drive. When Alabama needed a stop, down five with 2:44 left, the Commodores gained three first downs, four if counting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
All in all, it led to an overall uninspiring and forgettable performance from Alabama’s defense.
Lawson said all the Crimson Tide can do is watch the film and learn from it.
“This was a new offense that we faced, the option style,” Lawson said. “Everyone was going to have to be locked in to do your job because one person not in the right gap or on the quarterback, explosive play. That hurts when you’ve got them on third down, and they convert to a first down. That’s a whole other cycle. From here, we go back to the drawing board. Look yourself in the mirror and keep going.”
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