Alabama couldn’t find a way to get off the field during its 40-35 loss at Vanderbilt over the weekend. The porous third-down defense proved to be the Crimson Tide’s undoing as it allowed the Commodores to convert on 12 of 18 third-dow opportunities and chew up more than 42 minutes of possession.
To make matters worse, Alabama allowed Vanderbilt to convert five third-down chances of 5 or more yards.
Much of the Commodores’ third-and-long success can be credited to a clutch performance from quarterback Diego Pavia. The dual-threat playmaker played a part in all five of Vanderbilt’s long conversions and completed 8 of 10 third-down attempts for 100 yards and a touchdown. However, Alabama also shot itself in the foot several times thanks to a mixture of poor discipline and shoddy tackling.
“There’s a way a game is supposed to be played from a defensive standpoint with physicality and urgency,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Monday. “And I thought we played a little too much on our heels last week, and certainly that’s going to be the No. 1 thought process as we game plan this week is getting our guys to play at a really high physical level.”
Here’s a look back at each of Alabama’s third-and-long breakdowns over the weekend and what it can improve on moving forward.