Clark Lea: Vanderbilt physically dominated Alabama football and was upset

As the goalposts of FirstBank Stadium floated toward the Cumberland River Saturday night after Vanderbilt football defeated Alabama 40-35 on Saturday, the Commodore head coach felt good. He talked about building the VU program, confident his team could pull off the upset, and the feeling of seeing the fans rush the field afterward.

He also acknowledged something obvious to everyone in the stadium on Saturday.

“I felt like we were the more dominant team physically tonight,” Lea said. “That’s a statement. They played hard and we made it difficult. (Alabama) got some plays with their skill and they were able to shut down Diego (Pavia) a few times, but we just kept hitting.”

Alabama was the No. 1 team in the Associated Press media poll heading into Saturday’s game after a thrilling win over Georgia. Vanderbilt was 2-2 after suffering a double overtime loss to Missouri.

When the gates opened in Nashville, the crowd appeared to be at least 80% Alabama fans. When the game ended, the rest of the crowd filled the field.

The Crimson Tide had their chance to come back. UA cut the deficit to two points twice in the second half but was never able to prevail.

For Lea, the victory, in which his team looked better than the nation’s top team, was pleasing.

“Special night for Vanderbilt,” Lea said. “Special evening for my team. We want more of these things.”

Alabama will be back in action next Saturday against South Carolina at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Vanderbilt faces Kentucky in Lexington.