Vanderbilt's epic Alabama win: "Games like this change your life"
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Vanderbilt fans carry the goalpost after a win against Alabama. Photo: Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
As the clock ticked down to zero at FirstBank Stadium Saturday night, Vanderbilt fans let out a roar so loud you could hear it from miles away.
Their reaction matched the historic scale of Vanderbilt's "David vs. Goliath" victory: The unranked team had beaten Alabama, No. 1 in the nation.
Why it matters: It was perhaps the greatest moment in Vanderbilt football history, and the first time ever the Commodores had prevailed against a top-five opponent.
What they're saying: "Games like this change your life," Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia said afterward.
State of play: The news shot through the sports world like a lightning bolt. Alabama fell to No. 7 in the Associated Press' Top 25 football poll.
- It spurred national news stories and shoutouts on "Saturday Night Live."
- "I'm from Nashville," comedian Nate Bargatze said to cheers during his opening monologue. "We had a big day today."
Zoom out: Vanderbilt football tends to go unnoticed in Nashville. But not on Saturday night.
- As the Commodores inched closer to a W, revelers in sports bars across the city incredulously looked up from their pretzels and cheese dip.
- When the first half closed with Vanderbilt holding onto a 23-14 lead, things started to get interesting.
"Aw man," someone said at The Village Pub in East Nashville. "Now I'm going have to stay and watch the whole game."
- By the end, the whole bar was whooping and hollering like they were watching the Super Bowl.
The intrigue: The stadium in Midtown erupted as fans rushed onto the field in jubilation. Then, in a scene that mirrored Tennessee's 2022 victory against Alabama, fans toppled the goalpost.
- Then, they started moving.
- They marched more than two miles, past the tourists and bachelorettes on Lower Broadway and up to the banks of the Cumberland River, where they hurled the goalpost into the water. (The Nashville Fire Department fished it out soon afterward.)
The bottom line: "That is the dream," Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said of the victory, per the Tennessean. "That's why I came here. It's what I came here to do."
What's next: "Here's to having more of these nights," Lea said.
- Vanderbilt plays the unranked Kentucky next Saturday.