By the Numbers: Vanderbilt’s stunning win over No. 1 Alabama

There’s nothing better than college football.

Just a week after winning one of the most exciting college football games in recent memory, top-ranked Alabama followed up its victory over then-No. 2 Georgia with one loss … to Vanderbilt, which entered the game with just two SEC wins since the end of the 2019 season.

The result shocked the college football world and the general sports scene alike. Here are some of the most notable numbers behind the incredible surprise:

1:

Aside from placing Alabama at No. 1 in the rankings, Saturday’s win also marked several firsts for Vanderbilt. It was the school’s first win against a top-ranked program. It was also the first time the Commodores scored more than 40 points in a game against a top-five opponent.

3:

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is something of a surprise specialist. Pavia entered the competition alongside Eric Dungey (Syracuse) and Skylar Thompson (Kansas State) and earned the most wins by a quarterback in games in which their team was a 21-point underdog with two wins over the past 20 seasons. Both of Pavia’s previous victories came during his time at New Mexico State. He now adds another such triumph, as Vanderbilt finished as a 22.5-point underdog on ESPN BET.

4:

Alabama becomes the fourth No. 1 team in the AP Poll era to lose a game to an unranked opponent a week after a win over a top-two ranked opponent. A result like this hadn’t been seen since 1960, when the Minnesota Golden Gophers fell to the Purdue Boilermakers.

13:

In four games against Alabama during Nick Saban’s tenure, Vanderbilt scored 13 points.

In total.

The Commodores scored 13 points in the first quarter of Saturday’s contest.

23:

Alabama had won 23 straight games against Vanderbilt before Saturday’s upset (Alabama won in 1993, but the victory later went to Vanderbilt, which was lost due to NCAA violations against the Crimson Tide from that season) before Saturday’s Surprise came, a series that dates back to 1984.

The duel had not even been decided by a margin of one point since 2006.

60:

Vanderbilt entered Saturday’s game with a 0-60 record against top-five AP opponents. The 60 consecutive losses to these opponents were the longest such streak in the AP polling era, dating back to 1936.

80:

Pavia finished Saturday 16-20, throwing for 252 yards and scoring two scores. His 80% completion rate was the highest mark by an opposing quarterback against the Crimson Tide since 2010, when Stephen Garcia posted an 85% completion rate for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

ESPN Research contributed to this story