Vanderbilt quarterback commit Michael Mitchell Jr. followed the score from his brother’s football game and then went to a restaurant to see the unbelievable: Commodores 40, Alabama 35.
“It was exciting watching them beat Alabama,” Mitchell said. “But I’m not surprised. They could easily be 5-0 right now.”
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Linebacker pledge Josiah Broxton had a watch party at his grandmother’s house.
“Seeing them dominate and control the whole game had me and the whole family hyped,” the Tallahassee (Fla.) Florida standout said.
Chicago (Ill.) Mt Carmel quarterback commit Jack Elliott was at homecoming pictures when the game ended but after visiting Vanderbilt early in the summer a few months after his commitment, he knew the Commodores were going the right way.
“When I visited in June I knew that the program was heading in the right direction especially because of the new attitude in not just the staff but the players as well,” Elliott said.
In one of the biggest upsets in college football history, Vanderbilt shocked Alabama, 40-35, Saturday night in Nashville. Afterward, fans carried the goalposts down Broadway in a night Music City will never forget.
In the post-game press conference, Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea teared up. The Commodores not only beat Alabama (which was coming off the biggest high of beating Georgia the week before), Vanderbilt never trailed against the Crimson Tide.
It was the first time Vandy beat Alabama since 1984 and only the second time since 1969. The last three times these two teams met, Alabama outscored the Commodores, 148-3.
Vandy commit Vanzale Hinton was inside the stadium and called it an unreal experience.
“Going into the game I knew they were ready,” Hinton said. “Plenty of more wins to come.”
What’s even more spectacular is that Vanderbilt has not had a winning season in a decade since the days of James Franklin, who had back-to-back nine-win campaigns before leaving for Penn State.
But the Commodores could be 5-0 right now with only a four-point loss to Georgia State and a three-point decision to Missouri.
Now in his fourth season, Lea was 11-29 entering Saturday’s game against No. 1 Alabama. The Commodores were 2-23 in SEC games under the 42-year-old coach.
After Vanderbilt stunned Alabama, 2026 safety Justin Hopkins from Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth said the stadium was crazed as fans rushed the field.
“People were jumping off the rails to get on the field,” Hopkins said.
Maybe this is the start of something special for Vanderbilt, which has almost never had something special happen in its football program.
Maybe it was one sweet, unforgettable night that will always be theirs.
"We just beat the No 1 team in college football,” three-star defensive end commit George Okorie said.
“Mark my words: Vanderbilt is going to surprise the world. Keep sleeping on us. The whole world is going to wake up to the coach Lea era.”
