College football analyst Josh Pate has warned the Alabama Crimson Tide to be wary of the matchup that lies ahead. The No. 10 Alabama might have taken down the Georgia Bulldogs last week, but that gives them no reason to take their upcoming matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores lightly.
Pate previewed the upcoming matchup, set to be played at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Vanderbilt is unbeaten and is ranked 5-0 on the season. That’s why Pate believes the team has the tools to defeat Alabama just like they did last year.
“Saturday, you would still think you’re going to win, but a lot more of the country would be taking them seriously,” Pate said (9:23). “They’d be taking the matchup seriously. That’s how seriously you should be taking this. That’s the caliber of team that Vanderbilt is right now.”
“Michigan, USC was another one that was right there. Again, these are not teams you think are as good as Alabama. I don’t think they’re as good as Bama, but you would take the threat seriously. Take this threat very seriously,” he added.
Though Pate issued the warning, he still believes Alabama will come out a winner, but he’s betting on Vanderbilt to cover the spread. He continued:
“We are taking Vandy to cover. That’s actually one of our best bets of the week. But I am taking Alabama to win. So I think it’s right there in that six to eight point range.”
Kalen DeBoer Advises Alabama Ahead of Vanderbilt Matchup
Alabama lost to Vanderbilt 40-35 last year. The loss cost them a spot in the College Football Playoff. Now heading into the game against Vanderbilt, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has asked the team not to be overconfident.
“Every coach I talk to at midfield, that’s what the conversation’s about is here you go again. You’ve got to reload mentally, physically, emotionally to during the week, get prepared at the highest level you possibly can, and go play ball,” DeBoer said. “Physically, it’s going to be a battle, and mentally, you’ve got to be ready to respond, and so yeah, we didn’t handle success last year well. You can’t argue that.”
“I also think they did a nice job executing in critical times and made plays. No different this week, right? And our success that we had on Saturday, none of it matters. None of it carries over. The third down stops, the third down execution on offense doesn’t matter. Points don’t carry over; every game is its own game. There’s new matchups that are going to be presented in this game that are different than last week. So just like I talk about every play being its own play, this game is its own game,” he added.
Alabama is the favorite entering this contest. After losing the season opener to Florida State, the team showed it can do well by winning against Georgia. They will now hope not to take a loss here.
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