Simpson, Miller lead No. 10 Alabama to 30-14 victory over No. 16 Vanderbilt
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- — Ty Simpson threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, leading No. 10 Alabama to a 30-14 victory over No. 16 Vanderbilt on Saturday.Simpson overcame an early interception to complete 23-of-30 passes, finding Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams for touchdowns. Jam Miller ran for 136 yards and a touchdown for the Crimson Tide (4-1, 2-0 SEC).
“I thought we played hard-nosed,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “The momentum we’re continuing to gain, there’s a confidence between offense and defense that the other side will come through when it matters most.”
Diego Pavia threw for 183 yards and ran for 58 for Vanderbilt (5-1, 1-1), but threw an interception and lost a fumble. Sedrick Alexander had a 65-yard touchdown run.
Alabama converted all four of its trips into the red zone in points, while Pavia's two turnovers left Vanderbilt without points in two critical situations. Vanderbilt's running game that totaled 126 yards on 12.7 yards per carry in the first half was limited to just nine rushing yards in the second half.
“We knew coming in this would be a game won on third down and the red zone,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “Those are two areas we weren’t very good at, particularly on offense. Offensively we never seemed to get rhythm, particularly in the second half. And that allowed them to take time of possession.”
“Understanding what happened Week 1, there’s two things you can do,” DeBoer said. “You can take it or you can fight back. If we are who we are and believe we have a good football team then there’s one option; and that’s to give it everything we’ve got. And that’s what these guys are doing.”
Vanderbilt’s run game showed it can be productive, but the Commodores need to find answers throwing the ball downfield to be a serious SEC contender.
Alabama travels to No. 19 Missouri next Saturday.
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