Nick Saban Provides Perspective on Alabama vs. Vanderbilt

Now, as the dust has settled from last season's loss, the Crimson Tide is set to meet Vanderbilt once more, but this time on much different terms than the year prior.

The Commodores are set to enter Bryant-Denny Stadium with a 5-0 record as the No. 16 team in the nation - a far cry from 2024's 2-2 record which included a loss to Georgia State. The former Crimson Tide coach sat down with ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday ahead of the game to discuss the upcoming showdown.

"There's two things here if you want me to be honest," Saban said, gesturing toward McAfee who gave an earnest nod of approval, "There's perception, which the perception of the Alabama folks after being here for all these years is win every game ... we expect to win every game. I like that standard. Some people, that bothers them, but I'd hate to coach at a place that didn't have a standard and expectations you're going to win the game. That's one."

He continued, "Two - I do think the Alabama folks have a much better respect for Vanderbilt because of last year ... I think it's going to be really important in this game that we control the tempo of the game. We need to keep the ball on offense, run it a little better."

The coach went on to highlight the Commodores' defense, saying of Clark Lea's team, "One thing Vanderbilt's defense is going to be able to do is, if they get you in third down, they have really good pressure packages ... Ty [Simpson] is going to have to be able to handle that."

He went on, returning to his previous point of establishing the run game, "If Alabama can run the ball, and have more balance on offense ... It's going to be tough to contain Vanderbilt the whole time, so keep the ball away from them."

The Crimson Tide will kick off Saturday's matchup with the Commodores at 2:30 p.m. CST at home in Bryant-Denny Stadium as it looks to improve to 4-1 on the season.

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