Vanderbilt Head Coach Evaluates Alabama's 'NFL-Style' Offense

Vanderbilt pulled off an all-time upset against Alabama last season in Nashville. But the two programs will meet once again on Saturday, this time in Tuscaloosa.

The Commodores are undefeated and rank No. 16 in the country, while the Crimson Tide stands at No. 10 after this past Saturday's impressive road win over then-No. 5 Georgia.

Of course, both teams are much different from last year's battle. Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea certainly agreed with that assessment when discussing Alabama during Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference.

“I think it’s drastically different," Lea said. "There are elements of this and elements of the identity a year ago. But you have a new coordinator and a new quarterback, and the way they’ve built around that has changed pretty drastically.

"Last year, I think it was more about spreading out and giving the quarterback a chance to create. This year, it feels way more like progression passing and almost kind of an NFL-style offense. They’re running it really well."

Lea is impressed with offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and quarterback Ty Simpson's success to start the season. This is Grubb's first year with the team after holding the same position with the Seattle Seahawks last year and he was Washington's OC alongside head coach Kalen DeBoer in 2022 and 2023.

Simpson is a redshirt junior who sat behind former Alabama quarterbacks Bryce Young in 2022 and Jalen Milroe in 2023 and 2024. He has shined extremely bright in his first four starts as Simpson has completed 69.8 percent of his throws for 1,138 yards, 11 touchdowns, no interceptions and also has two scores on the ground.

"And man, what a credit to their coaching staff with a first-time starter at quarterback, who’s a coach’s son," Lea said. "He waited his time, learned along the way and is building confidence as the year goes by. Between their guy and our guy, those are two of the best performing quarterbacks in the country, which makes Saturday’s matchup especially exciting.”

The "Our guy" that Lea is referring to is Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia. The Vanderbilt star finished last year's game with 252 passing yards and two touchdowns, along with 56 rushing yards. Ahead of Saturday's ranked rematch in Tuscaloosa, Pavia told On3's Chris Low the keys to upsetting Alabama once again.

“I don’t know what they’re doing. I just focus on us, but I know we’ve got to bring it. That’s for sure,” Pavia said. “The crowd, I think, is going to be a big factor in the game. But we just gotta play within the white lines. If we do that, if we play our game, it won’t be close.”

Kickoff between No. 10 Alabama and No. 16 Vanderbilt in Bryant-Denny Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.