3 reasons why Alabama lost to Vanderbilt in Week 6 encounter

The Vanderbilt Commodores pulled off the greatest upset of the last decade in Week 6 of college football, taking down No. 1 Alabama on Saturday. It was just the 19th win over the Crimson Tide for the Commodores in the 121-year history of the series, dating back to 1903.

Vanderbilt topped the Tide for the first time since 1984 when the Commodores came out of Tuscaloosa with a win.

Vanderbilt beat Alabama 40-35 in the Week 6 clash, advancing to 3-2 on the season and giving the Tide the first loss of the season, dropping the record to 4-1. There were some key turning points in the matchup that put the Commodores over the top. Here are three reasons why Vanderbilt upset Alabama in Week 6.

Three reasons why Alabama lost to Vanderbilt

Alabama's early two-possession deficit

A team like Alabama expects to walk into an unranked opponent's house and get out to a fast start, but that wasn't the case for the Tide in Week 6. Vanderbilt came out and led a methodical 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, facing little resistance from Alabama's defense.

The Tide's offense came onto the field down 7-0, looking to answer with a touchdown. Alabama faced a third-down situation just three plays into the drive before star quarterback Jalen Milroe threw an easy interception on an obvious passing play. Vanderbilt defensive back Randon Fontenette returned the interception 29 yards for a touchdown, putting the Commodores up 13-0 and setting the stage for a potential upset.

One-sided time of possession battle

With a 13-0 lead midway through the first quarter, Vanderbilt had a simple offensive focus: protect the ball and drain the clock. The Commodores' offense did just that, as six of Vanderbilt's nine offensive drives took at least four minutes off the clock.

The Vanderbilt offense played keep away from Alabama, holding onto the ball and scoring points in the process. The Commodores walked away with points on six drives and dominated the time of possession battle.

Defensive woes for the Crimson Tide

While this technically goes hand-in-hand with the time-of-possession battle, it remains true that Alabama's defense couldn't get off the field versus Vanderbilt. The Tide surrendered 418 yards of total offense versus Vanderbilt. Alabama's only other game allowing more than 310 yards came in Week 5 versus the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs.

Vanderbilt converted on 12 of 18 third down situations and didn't allow a single takeaway. Vanderbilt's methodical offensive gameplan was extremely effective versus the No. 1 team in the country.