{"id":9141,"date":"2017-09-25T08:00:02","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=9141"},"modified":"2018-01-13T00:55:59","modified_gmt":"2018-01-13T05:55:59","slug":"alabama-vs-vanderbilt-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2017\/09\/25\/alabama-vs-vanderbilt-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama vs. Vanderbilt Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Could Vandy Out-Bama, Bama?<\/h2>\n<p>That was the question going into the game. Up to Saturday, Vanderbilt had looked like a good, old-fashioned run-first team. In other words, they looked like the traditional Alabama team. In fact, with a heavy emphasis on running the ball, Vandy had looked like what most fans want Alabama to look more like this year. No question that coach <strong>Lane Kiffin<\/strong> produced some great offensive results. But many believe that Alabama&#8217;s defense suffered because of too much time on the field, and that an over-emphasis on passing and Run-Pass-Option plays were not in the best interest for the Crimson Tide.<\/p>\n<p>Enter new offensive coordinator <strong>Brian Daboll.<\/strong> Early and often, Daboll gave fans exactly what they wanted. Both <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/damien-harris-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damien Harris<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/bo-scarbrough-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Bo\u00a0<\/strong><b>Scarbrough<\/b><\/a>\u00a0dominated the first half. Indeed after two plays in the second half, Harris had a career high in rushing yards and a rushing average of 13.5 per play.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Alabama vs Vanderbilt 2017 Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0EiBTqIWkbM?start=87&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>A Complete Game<\/h2>\n<p>As part of the &#8220;Process&#8221;, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ufR8DM1ATI0\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coach Saban always discusses the importance of playing a &#8220;complete game&#8221;. <\/a>Not only does this refer to playing hard all 60 minutes, it also emphasizes the importance of maximizing potential in all 3 areas: offense, defense, and special teams. In special teams, not too much was asked of kicker <strong>Andy Pappanastos<\/strong> or punter\/kick-off man <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/jk-scott-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>J.K. Scott<\/strong><\/a>. The only slip-up came when punt-returner <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/trevon-diggs-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Trevon Diggs<\/strong><\/a> fumbled and recovered his own muffed punt.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavyeditorial.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/gettyimages-131186238-e1506181228842.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" \/><\/p>\n<p>From an offensive standpoint, it bears repeating that Coach Daboll really had a coming out party. Seeing the dominance of the run game set up Jalen for some beautiful, accurate passes to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/cam-sims-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Cam Sims<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/calvin-ridley-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Calvin Ridley<\/strong><\/a> was a sight for sore eyes. In fact, there were no jet sweeps or RPO&#8217;s in the whole game &#8212; a huge departure from philosophy of Lane Kiffin who wanted Bama&#8217;s offense to spread the ball around the field. The dominance of the run game is of course also a product of great O-Line play. Accordingly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1AyvjMS7cL4\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Najee Harris<\/strong> had some great minutes in the first half as well<\/a>. And with linebackers <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/rashaan-evans-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Rashaan Evans<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/anfernee-jennings-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Anfernee Jennings<\/strong><\/a> back after dealing with injuries, each facet of the defense played absolutely fantastic. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Pjq4v4c8bNM\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">complete dominance of the first half <\/a>was reflected in halftime score of 31-0.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static-35.sinclairstoryline.com\/resources\/media\/ae790ea0-2962-4a4c-bf1b-8ef2360c3fa7-large16x9_alhighlights.PNG\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>The Second Half<\/h3>\n<p>The second half was more of the same, just with different names on the back of the jerseys. Alabama came out dominant and scored an immediate touchdown bringing the score to 38-0. It was then, with over 10 minutes left in the 3rd that <a href=\"http:\/\/247sports.com\/Player\/Tua-Tagovailoa-77451\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Tua Tagovailoa<\/strong> <\/a>entered the game. After that, it became the Tua Show for the rest of the game.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Watch Tua Tagovailoa\u2019s incredible scrambling TD play to DeVonta Smith\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5p0BsC_PEA4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>With names like Tua, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/devonta-smith-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Devonta Smith<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/jerry-jeudy-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Jerry Jeudy<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/najee-harris-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Najee Harris<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/mack-wilson-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Mack Wilson<\/strong><\/a> and others making up the majority of talking points during the second half, most of the accomplishments of these new players will be examined in the final article of a 3 Part <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/2017\/09\/02\/10-ua-freshmen-sophomores\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Series on UA freshman and sophomores that will make a huge impact on this season<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9162\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9162\" style=\"width: 594px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2017\/09\/25\/alabama-vs-vanderbilt-recap\/college-football-sep-23-alabama-at-vanderbilt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9162\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/09\/852676858.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/09\/852676858.jpg 594w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/09\/852676858-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9162\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASHVILLE, TN &#8211; SEPTEMBER 23: Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Calvin Ridley (3) and Vanderbilt (5) LaDarius Wiley (S) skirmish during a college football game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Alabama Crimson Tide on September 23, 2017 at Commodore Stadium in Nashville, TN. (Photo by Jamie Gilliam\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Could Vandy Out-Bama, Bama? That was the question going into the game. Up to Saturday, Vanderbilt had looked like a good, old-fashioned run-first team. In other words, they looked like the traditional Alabama team. In fact, with a heavy emphasis on running the ball, Vandy had looked like what most fans want Alabama to look [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1758,"featured_media":9162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[35,126,41,20,96],"class_list":["post-9141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sec","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-ncaa","tag-nick-saban","tag-sec","tag-vanderbilt-commodores"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1758"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}