Vanderbilt leads No. 1 Alabama 23-14 at halftime

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Vanderbilt Commodores have never beaten a No. 1 team in football. Thanks to a very quick start, they are able to do exactly that.

Or at least terrify the Alabama Crimson Tide by gaining their largest lead ever over a top team.

Vanderbilt led Alabama 23-14 at halftime after scoring the first 13 points, giving it a 16-point lead, the largest the Commodores have ever had over the No. 1 team in the country. Only the late Tide goal reduced the score to single digits.

Alabama just moved to the top of The Associated Press Top 25 after a big win over Georgia. The Tide won the opening toss and adjourned.

Vanderbilt, which hasn't beaten Alabama on the field since 1984, immediately raced down the field and took the lead on a 7-yard touchdown run by Sedrick Alexander. It was the first time since 2007 that Vandy opened a game against Alabama with a TD, and it was Nick Saban's second game as coach.

Alabama rebounded to win 24-10 on the day.

This time, the Tide (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) helped Vanderbilt extend that lead.

Jalen Milroe, who was one of the top candidates for the Heisman Trophy with his play against Georgia, was thrown into the air on the second pass by De'Rickey Wright, who chose Alabama and ended up at Vanderbilt.

Randon Fontenette grabbed the ball and ran 24 yards to the end zone for the pick-6 and a 13-0 lead at 8:03 of the first quarter.

Jam Miller capped a seven-play drive for Alabama with an 8-yard TD run as the Tide appeared poised to take control.

Vanderbilt (2-2, 0-1) scored 10 straight goals to go 23-7, marking just the second time in the last 10 seasons that a No. 1 team beat an unranked opponent by 16 or more points had a backlog. Clemson trailed Boston College by 18 points in 2020 and won 30-28.

The Commodores got help from Alabama to preserve a 17-game streak that lasted 9:50 minutes and incurred two penalties. The Tide, with 17-year-old phenom Ryan Williams recovering the punt, also had another player with the same No. 2 on the field to give Vandy a first down.

On third down, Alabama linebacker Que Robinson hit quarterback Diego Pavia and drew a flag for a roughing hit that Tide fans hated. Five plays later, Alexander scored from one yard out to give Vandy a 20-7 lead.

Brock Taylor gave Vandy a 23-7 lead with 4:10 left in the first half with a 51-yard field goal. Taylor had missed two field goals, including one in the second overtime of a road loss at then-No. 1-7 Missouri.

Alabama finally answered with Miller's second touchdown with 1:25 left.

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