Vanderbilt shakes up college football with win over Alabama

The Vanderbilt Commodores shook up college football by pulling off the biggest win in their history against No. 1-ranked Alabama (40-35). It was Vanderbilt's first win against a Top-5 team.

In fact, until last Saturday, Vanderbilt had the worst record in history against a top-five team: 60 losses to no wins. This season, they had two losses and two wins, while Alabama, which had just earned the number one ranking last week, had four wins. 

The Commodores never trailed on the scoreboard at any point in the game. Vanderbilt built a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, managing to overcome Alabama's high-powered offense, with quarterback and Heisman contender Jalen Milroe and promising 17-year-old receiver Ryan Williams. In fact, Milroe left the game just before halftime when his team was ahead 23-21 afte scoring a touchdown after a 14-yard run.

Star player Diego Pavía 

The star of the game was Diego Pavia. He finished with 252 passing yards, two touchdowns and 57 rushing yards. Alongside him was key running back Sedrick Alexander, who added scored two touchdowns for his team.

Commodores coach Clark Lea applauded his players after the historic win over Alabama. "This is a very good football team. This is the dream right here and for the next 12 hours, I'm going to enjoy the dream. We've got more ahead of us, but this is what Vanderbilt football needs to be about. Big wins on big stages. We're going to go get some more."

Fans and players celebrated the result as if they had won the championship and many fans rushed the field. To cap it off, a group of fans ripped the goal post out of the south end zone and threw it into the Cumberland River.

With this result, Vanderbilt also ends a streak of 23 consecutive losses to Alabama and takes home its first win against the Crimson Tide since 1984.