Kalen DeBoer, Alabama can't look past Vanderbilt

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer has to know his team is excited about the future.

The Tide are 7-2 and coming off a massive win over Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers. They're also ranked No. 3 overall in the latest edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.

Especially after the relatively disappointing way DeBoer's first two seasons in Tuscaloosa ended, sitting in this position with three games to go has to make the Tide feel like they're sitting pretty.

Up next on the schedule is 4-5 Vanderbilt, and while on paper this looks like yet another win for DeBoer and Alabama, the head coach knows his team can't get caught looking ahead.

To be frank, it's not the game against Chattanooga that could make Vandy feel like a trap game, and that's no offense meant for the Mocs. 

After Chattanooga, it will be what promises to be a fiery contest against what should be a more-than-game Auburn Tigers squad in the Iron Bowl, though. Then there's a potential berth in the SEC championship and trying to make a run through the CFP.

The SEC title game and CFP run don't happen, or at least they're far less likely to happen, if Alabama goes out and loses to Vanderbilt, though.

Remember, Clark Lea and the Commodores beat then No. 1-ranked Alabama in Nashville two years ago, so this is an opponent that has institutional knowledge when it comes to taking down the Tide.

Kalen DeBoer wary of the Vanderbilt Commodores

DeBoer was recently asked about the No. 3 ranking next to his team's name, and he didn't really want to get into it.

“You know that it doesn’t really matter because you got to keep playing,” DeBoer said on SiriusXM (h/t On3). “If the season was over, yeah, then it really matters. You know, it’s a huge deal, and so we got to keep playing. We got to go play some ball this week against a good Vanderbilt team. I think that people are truly underestimating."