NASHVILLE, Tenn.–– Alabama said all the right things all week. Head coach Kalen DeBoer said he felt like his team had been “prepared hard” all week, but when it came to Saturday afternoon’s game in Nashville, Vanderbilt’s play on the field did all the talking.

Vanderbilt’s offense bullied Alabama’s defense from its opening possession en route to a 40-35 victory over the No. 1 Crimson Tide. Just a week after knocking off No. 2 Georgia, Alabama falls to an unranked team in front of a crowd filled mostly with Crimson Tide fans. It’s only the second time Alabama has lost to an unranked opponent since 2007, and the first time since 1984 to Vanderbilt.

“Of course it’s frustrating, because who wants to lose?” Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan said after the game. “We have to get back to work. We have realized that we are human. We have realized that nothing will be easy. We have to work for it. It’s all about respect and getting back to work. It’s all we can do .It’s excited to get back to work and get back to work and see how this turns out.

Alabama wasn’t surprised by the way Vanderbilt played, the Crimson Tide just couldn’t stop it. The Commodores scored on six of their first eight drives and owned the ball for 42:08. Vanderbilt played 75 plays to Alabama’s 46.

“I mean, that’s their style,” DeBoer said. “That’s what they did. They controlled it. They made it close. They’re going to turn back the clock, shorten the game. We knew that was going to be the case, we’ve been talking about it all week. week I said that (Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea) did a great job playing team football, and that’s exactly what they did. The bottom line is you have a good assignment, and they put you in isolated spots where one guy has to bring the ball carrier down. And they’re just slick enough, especially the quarterback, that people can miss.”

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia finished 16 of 20 for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns with no turnovers. He also had 56 rushing yards. Time and time again, Pavia helped the Commodores get to third down, keeping drives alive to stay on the field and weaken Alabama’s defense. Vanderbilt converted 67 percent (12 for 18) of its third down attempts.

Some of Alabama’s veteran defenders began to lose their balance and control as the game progressed, including an outburst from captain Malachi Moore in the final minutes. The defense struggled to play disciplined football throughout.

Alabama’s offense had a lot of success off two turnovers: one pick-six in the first quarter and a sack fumble in the fourth quarter. Both were costly, but for the most part the offense was able to move the ball when it needed to.

Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe had his second straight 300-yard performance. He felt that the team had done a very good job of preparing, but the execution did not translate into the match.

“The best thing about football is opportunity,” Milroe said. “Now we have the opportunity to get better. We have the opportunity to reflect. So this becomes so important for us as a group to really channel, recognize that there is still room for us to improve and get to the top. I trust the guys in the locker room. There’s no doubt about that. We just need an opportunity like this to reflect and build up, we just need to continue on the same path and keep the same mentality.”

Alabama players have experience losing in the regular season and must respond. Last year, the Crimson Tide lost to Texas in Week 2 and rallied back to win the SEC and make a run to the College Football Playoff. But this is a different kind of loss. Keenan called it a “wake-up call” and said he’s glad it happened early in the season so Alabama has time to fix the issues. And after watching the tape on Sunday, the coaching staff will have a lot of fixing to do as the Crimson Tide prepares to take South Carolina to Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“The guys in the locker room, we just talked about how there’s only one option moving forward: get back to work,” DeBoer said. “I feel like we have a great football team. We weren’t at our best today. We’re going to find out how much we care about each other, and what it looks like in the future. We’ve been tested in different ways. Actually, there are a lot of games here this season, and this is a different kind of test for us now, in our response.”

See also: What Kalen DeBoer said after Alabama’s stunning loss to Vanderbilt

Instant Analysis: Vanderbilt 40, No. 1 Alabama 35

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