Why Alabama’s real Vanderbilt concern may be closer to home than Kalen DeBoer suggests

Kalen DeBoer used his Wednesday night Hey Coach radio show to push back on the questions he has fielded all week about the Vanderbilt Commodores, the 4-5 team the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide visit on Saturday in Nashville, and he aimed his answer at the people asking them.

“I can tell by the questions as I go through interviews throughout the course of the week that everyone outside of the building hasn’t watched Vanderbilt. They haven’t watched them. Our guys understand what it looks like. They’re preparing for it, and having a good week of practice right now,” DeBoer said, as relayed by Bama 24/7’s Mike Rodak.

The last time Alabama went to Nashville, it arrived ranked No. 1 after beating the Georgia Bulldogs and lost 40-35 on Oct. 5, 2024. DeBoer brought that game up with his players in the visitors’ locker room at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, minutes after a 31-13 win over the LSU Tigers.

Kalen DeBoer on Hey Coach: “I can tell by the questions as I go through interviews throughout the course of the week that everyone outside of the building hasn’t watched Vanderbilt. They haven’t watched them.”

“Our guys understand what it looks like. They’re preparing for it, and having a good week of practice right now.”

— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) November 12, 2026

“A lot of these guys don’t have the memory from a couple years ago. Big win, then going up to Vanderbilt,” DeBoer told Crimson Tide Sports Network radio postgame.

Does Vanderbilt’s tape back up Kalen DeBoer?

Vanderbilt opened 3-0, lost five straight and then won 25-23 at the Mississippi State Bulldogs last Saturday, and part of that losing streak supports DeBoer. Two of those five losses were decided by 10 points or fewer, 21-15 at the Auburn Tigers and 31-21 at home against the Arkansas Razorbacks. At the Kentucky Wildcats, then ranked No. 12, the Commodores trailed only 24-17 going into the fourth quarter before losing 34-17.

Georgia beat Vanderbilt 38-14 in Athens, and the Ole Miss Rebels put up 52 points in Nashville. Vanderbilt also ranks next-to-last in the SEC in rushing at 112.1 yards per game, and its 160 rushing yards at Mississippi State were its most against an FBS opponent all season.

A team that hangs around into the second half against SEC opponents is a fair warning for a coach to issue, and DeBoer has the 2024 result to justify issuing it loudly. The stronger case for concern, though, sits inside his own building.

LSU outgained Alabama 457-285 on Saturday and crossed midfield on each of its first seven drives, and Alabama won because its defense allowed 10 points on four red-zone trips. After topping 124 rushing yards in each of its first six games, Alabama has not reached 80 in any of the last three.

Vanderbilt kept Kentucky within one score for three quarters with a defense that will now face an Alabama offense that has stopped producing on the ground. It also has a kicker in Brock Taylor who went 6-for-6 on field goals at Mississippi State, including two from 54 yards or longer, which is how a 4-5 team keeps a close game close.

Kickoff is at 12:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Alabama finishes the regular season against the Chattanooga Mocs and Auburn.

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