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By the Numbers: Vanderbilt’s stunning upset of No. 1 Alabama
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By the Numbers: Vanderbilt’s stunning upset of No. 1 Alabama

There’s nothing like college football.

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

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


1:

In addition to ranking Alabama No. 1, Saturday’s win represented several firsts for Vanderbilt. It was the school’s first win over a top 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 an upset specialist. Pavia entered the game tied with Eric Dungey (Syracuse) and Skylar Thompson (Kansas State) for the most wins by a quarterback in games where their team has been a 21-plus point underdog by two over the past twenty seasons. Both of Pavia’s previous victories came during his time at New Mexico State. He now adds another such triumph, as Vanderbilt closed 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 the week after a win over a top-2 ranked opponent. Such an outcome had not occurred 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.

Total.

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


23:

Alabama had won 23 consecutive games against Vanderbilt (in 1993, Alabama won, but the win later went to Vanderbilt via forfeit due to NCAA violations against that season’s Crimson Tide) before Saturday’s upset, a streak dating back to 1984.

The matchup hadn’t even been decided by a one-score margin since 2006.


60:

Vanderbilt entered Saturday’s game with an 0-60 mark against AP top-5 opposition. The 60 straight losses against those opponents were the longest streak in the AP poll era, dating back to 1936.


80:

Pavia finished 16-for-20 on Saturday, throwing for 252 yards and a pair of scores. His 80% completion percentage was the highest mark by an opposing quarterback against the Crimson Tide since 2010, when Stephen Garcia finished with an 85% mark for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

ESPN Research contributed to this story