The biggest upset of the 2024 college football season came on Saturday in the form of a tremendously entertaining Vanderbilt victory over No. 1 Alabama, 40-35. Playing in front of their home crowd and some loitering construction equipment, the Commodores played with no shortage of moxie and earned every inch of their gritty win.
Quarterback Diego Pavia was the hero of the day for the home side, finishing with 16 completions on 20 pass attempts for 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns (including one incredibly bold fourth-down heave in the third quarter). The signal-caller also finished with 57 yards on the ground and picked up a few critical first downs in the stretch run.
It was a ton of fun to watch unfold for most of the college football world and the stunning upset left fans in disbelief. Here are some of the best reactions from the craziest upset of the year.
SHOCK. THE. WORLD
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) October 5, 2024
UNRANKED VANDY UPSETS NO. 1 ALABAMA 😱
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 5, 2024
COMMODORES PULL OFF THE UNTHINKABLE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zSFc09sdJC
Diego Pavia was a 2-star recruit coming out of high school.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 5, 2024
The QB chose to play for his home school New Mexico State, then followed OC Tim Beck to Vanderbilt.
He just led VANDY to TAKE DOWN #1 ALABAMA, 40-35. pic.twitter.com/g9ZNJSoxuz
Diego Pavia owns the state of Alabama.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 5, 2024
Beat Auburn last year, beats No. 1 Alabama this year.
He'll have that forever.
TONIGHT WE ARE ALL COMMODORES
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 5, 2024
DOWN GOES #1 ALABAMA
DIEGO PAVIA IS THE MAYOR OF NASHVILLE pic.twitter.com/aeCx2e8Ulo
ALABAMA JUST LOST TO VANDERBILT
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) October 5, 2024
ALABAMA JUST LOST TO VANDERBILT
ALABAMA JUST LOST TO VANDERBILT
ALABAMA JUST LOST TO VANDERBILT
ALABAMA JUST LOST TO VANDERBILT
ALABAMA JUST LOST TO VANDERBILT
ALABAMA JUST LOST TO VANDERBILT
ALABAMA JUST LOST TO VANDERBILT
MY SCHOOL VANDERBILT JUST PULLED OFF THE GREATEST UPSET I'VE EVERY ROOTED FOR IN MY LIFETIME: VANDERBILT 40, NO. 1 ALABAMA 35. THANK YOU, DIEGO PAVIA. THANK YOU, CLARK LEA. THANK YOU, COMMODORES FOOTBALL TEAM. #ANCHORDOWN
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 5, 2024
Anybody who says that this game doesn’t matter because Alabama can make the playoff anyway needs to be boo’d off of sports radio this week
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) October 5, 2024
Not many wins will ever matter more than this one
Alabama got back to #1 after losing Nick Saban only to lose to Vanderbilt in an active construction site because of the heroism of a zero-star QB who played juco ball for the New Mexico Military Institute. What a world
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) October 5, 2024
“Alabama is the clear number one team in the country after beating Georgia last week”
— Dylan Holt (@DylanHolt_) October 5, 2024
Vandy: pic.twitter.com/CKEV5fh60Q
VANDERBILT IS GOING TO TAKE DOWN NO. 1 ALABAMA
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 5, 2024
THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING
Alabama just lost to Vanderbilt after giving up 40 points!!
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) October 5, 2024
This is why @TexasFootball should’ve stayed the #1 team in the Nation. pic.twitter.com/NnNEiCzgj9
Vanderbilt, 0-60 all-time against top-5 foes, stuns No. 1 Alabama 40-35. First time beating them in 40 years.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) October 5, 2024
And just a week after the Tide beat No. 2 Georgia.
Easily Bama's worst loss since ULM in Saban's first year.
All hail Clark Lea and Diego Pavia.
Alabama fans right now pic.twitter.com/gedCdIRByR
— College Football Live (@CollegeFBonX) October 5, 2024
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alabama's Staggering Upset Loss to Vanderbilt Left College Football Fans in Disbelief .
