This Saturday afternoon's Alabama-Vanderbilt game in Nashville pits arguably the greatest football coach in Southeastern Conference history against the league coach who after one game looked like a lost cause.
The Derek Mason era with the Commodores began in 2014 with an inexplicable 37-7 home loss to Temple, but that same era included a bowl trip last season and a 3-0 start this year following last Saturday's 14-7 upset of No. 18 Kansas State. The win over the Wildcats marked Vanderbilt's first triumph over a ranked nonconference foe since a 1946 topping of North Carolina State.
Vanderbilt allowed just six points in an opening rout of Middle Tennessee State and shut out Alabama A&M in the second game, and the Commodores will challenge Nick Saban's top-ranked Crimson Tide with the nation's No. 1 scoring defense, yielding just 4.3 points per game.
"They're 3-0 and had a lot of starters back - nine on offense and seven on defense," Saban said Monday afternoon during his weekly news conference. "Their defense leads the nation in scoring, and Kyle Shurmur is the leading passing-efficiency quarterback in our league. They're very balanced in terms of run-pass.
SEC players of the week
OFFENSIVE: Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 88 yards and two scores in the 37-7 rout of LSU.DEFENSIVE: Kentucky cornerback Derrick Baity, who had eight tackles, two fourth-down stops and an interception at South Carolina, which had just 54 rushing yards.DEFENSIVE: Vanderbilt safety LaDarius Wiley, who had a career-high 11 tackles and an interception in the 14-7 upset of Kansas State. Vandy has allowed 4.3 points a game.SPECIAL TEAMS: Kentucky kicker Austin McGinnis, who made all three field-goal attempts (27, 44 and 21 yards) and both extra-point tries in the win at South Carolina.FRESHMAN: Florida defensive back C.J. Henderson, who had an interception return for a touchdown in the 26-20 win over Tennessee, his second pick-six this season.OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: Mississippi State's Darryl Williams, who had three knockdown blocks and graded out at 99 percent on an offense that rushed for 285 yards.DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: Mississippi State's Jeffery Simmons, who set career highs in tackles (seven) and sacks (1.5) in the drubbing of LSU, which had 133 rushing yards.- David Paschall
"This is a very good overall team and a team that deserves to be in the Top 25."
Alabama will enter Saturday having won 18 consecutive games against SEC East opposition.
Saban, who has a 115-13 record since the start of the 2008 season with five SEC championships and four national titles, will try to end Vanderbilt's five-game winning streak at home. That streak began last October with a 35-17 downing of Tennessee State and included double-digit defeats last November of Ole Miss (38-17) and Tennessee (45-34).
The Commodores also have won five consecutive regular-season games dating back to last season, a far cry from the 7-17 record they compiled in Mason's first two years. Mason said Saturday night that the Commodores were "trying to get all these monkeys off our back."
"There is no question about the buy-in to the program and the job he's done there," Saban said.
After Vanderbilt's emotional triumph over Kansas State, senior Commodores defensive tackle Nifae Lealao exclaimed, "Alabama, you're next!"
Lealoa's comment made the rounds Sunday on social media and with several media outlets, but Crimson Tide players were not making a big deal about it Monday.
"I mean, theoretically, we are next," sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts told reporters.
Alabama improved to 3-0 with Saturday night's 41-23 victory over Colorado State, but the Crimson Tide allowed 391 yards and spent more than 11 minutes on defense in both the second and fourth quarters. Tide defenders said after the game that a players-only meeting would take place Monday.
Saban wondered aloud Monday that if players walked into such a meeting concerned and came out happy, would it have served its purpose?
"Sometimes you lose sight of the fact that we're 3-0 and have improved in a lot of areas," Saban said. "For three quarters, we played pretty well Saturday night. I don't think anybody needs to be panicking."
Tide tidbits
Linebackers Rashaan Evans, Anfernee Jennings and Dylan Moses practiced Monday, but Saban said he would know more about their availability later this week. ... Alabama's Sept. 30 game against visiting Ole Miss will be televised by ESPN with a 9 p.m. EDT kickoff. ... Saban confirmed that sophomore tight end Miller Forristall did suffer a torn ACL Saturday night. ... Alabama has not lost a turnover since last November's Iron Bowl. ... The Crimson Tide last played in Nashville in 2007, when they topped the Commodores 24-10. ... Vanderbilt's last win over the Tide in Nashville was a 14-10 upset in 1969.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.