NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Vanderbilt Commodores have beaten a No. 1 team in football. That’s a first, and the biggest win in program history.
The Commodores never trailed in upsetting top-ranked Alabama 40-35 on Saturday, handing coach Clark Lea a victory to finally match some of those posted by his alma mater in men's basketball, women's basketball and two national championships in baseball.
“This is why I came back," said Lea, who was doused in Gatorade in the celebration. “It’s meant to be emotional. I bled a lot into this, and it just feels great to be able to celebrate with the team that I love and care about. I look forward to doing that more in the future.”
Lea had won big as a coach, lastly as defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. He returned to his hometown team, which has long been derided as the Southeastern Conference’s perennial cellar dweller whose most sustained success came a century ago — before the founding of the SEC.
With the changing landscape of college athletics, Vanderbilt has been seen — and discussed — as a program to potentially be kicked out of the mighty SEC for another university that could bring more to football.
Lea had won five games in a season only once during his first three years and went 2-10 in 2023.
With Vanderbilt in the midst of its first major renovation of its football stadium since 1981, Lea overhauled his program during the offseason. With Vanderbilt finally tapping into NIL with name, image and likeness opportunities, he brought in 51 new players led by quarterback Diego Pavia.
“Vandy, we're (expletive) turnt!" Pavia said in an interview on the SEC Network right after the biggest win of his career. “Games like this change your life.”
Pavia was the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year at New Mexico State and came to Vanderbilt as a graduate transfer. His former head coach Jerry Kill and offensive coordinator Tim Beck came with him to help Lea revamp the offense.
With Pavia playing with a big chip on his shoulder after not being recruited by bigger programs, Vanderbilt started the season by beating Virginia Tech in overtime. The Commodores' losses came late at Georgia State and in double overtime at then-No. 7 Missouri by a combined seven points.
Then came Alabama, which had just moved to the top of The Associated Press' Top 25 after a big win over Georgia.
Vanderbilt hadn't beaten Alabama on the field since 1984, losing 23 straight. The Commodores had been 0-60 all-time against AP Top Five teams. Pavia set the tone driving them down the field for a 7-yard touchdown run by Sedrick Alexander to take a lead Vandy never lost.
It was the first time since 2007 that Vandy opened a game against Alabama with a TD, and that was Nick Saban's second game as coach. Alabama rallied and won that day, 24-10.
Pavia helped Vanderbilt play keep-away, convert third down after third down with passes or by slipping past defenders to extend drives. The Commodores held the ball for more than 42 minutes.
“Every time he touches the ball, we have a chance,” Lea said. "I love him. In so many ways, he embodies the program that we’re building. Tonight, he deserves this stage. I’m proud of him, love him and I’m glad he’s our quarterback.”
Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-1) now has to visit Kentucky next. In a stadium with the south end zone still under construction and now needing a new goal post, the Commodores still have home games looming against No. 2 Texas and South Carolina before the regular season finale against No. 4 Tennessee.
They also visit Auburn and LSU.
Lea said this isn't the end for his Commodores, not with what they're building.
“There’s more for us than this,” Lea said. "This isn’t a finishing point, but it’s a hell of an arrival for tonight. We’ll celebrate it. I love this university. I love this team. Let’s go get some more.”
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Vanderbilt wide receiver Junior Sherrill (0) makes a catch for a touchdown ahead of Alabama defensive back Malachi Moore (13) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, center, celebrates the team's 40-35 win over No. 1 Alabama after an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Vanderbilt fans tear down the goal post the after team's 40-35 win over No. 1 Alabama in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Vanderbilt linebacker Randon Fontenette (2) returns an interception for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Another 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before dawn Saturday, the military said.
The Houthis issued a statement on Telegram saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.
“A flash of light, a blow and we fell to the ground. Big mess, broken glasses all over the place,” said Bar Katz, a resident of a damaged building.
The attack came after Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people Thursday. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi long-range missile that hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.
Israel's military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won’t stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports that will lead to the "immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The Hodeida port has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides’ attacks risk further escalation in the region.
Mourners in Gaza held funerals for 19 people — 12 of them children — killed in Israeli strikes on Friday and overnight.
One strike hit a residential building in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, and injuring 16 others, health officials said.
In Gaza City, a strike on a house killed 12 people, including seven children and two women, according to Al-Ahli Hospital where the bodies were taken.
One man cradled a tiny shroud-wrapped body as mourners gathered at the hospital in Gaza City. Women comforted each other as they wept.
Overall, Gaza's Health Ministry said 21 people had been killed over the past 24 hours.
More than 45,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, when a Hamas attack in Israel killed about 1,200 people and triggered the 14-month war. The health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said more than half of fatalities are women and children.
Israel faces heavy international criticism over the unprecedented levels of civilian deaths in Gaza. It says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.
Gaza's Health Ministry issued an urgent appeal for medical and food supplies to be delivered to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in largely isolated northern Gaza, while the hospital director described conditions as dire, as Israel's military presses its latest offensive.
The ministry reported continuous gunfire and Israeli shelling near the hospital, saying “shells have struck the third floor and the hospital’s entrances, creating a state of panic.”
Hospital director Dr. Husam Abu Safiyeh said the facility faced “severe shortages” and asserted that requests for essential medical supplies and ways to maintain oxygen, water and electricity systems "have largely gone unmet.”
He said 72 wounded people were being treated at the hospital.
“Food is very scarce, and we cannot provide meals for the wounded," Safiyeh added. “We are urgently calling on anyone who can provide supplies to help us.”
Aid groups have said Israeli military operations and armed gangs have hindered their ability to distribute aid.
The Israeli military organization dealing with humanitarian affairs for Gaza said Saturday it had led an operation delivering thousands of food packages, flour and water to the Beit Hanoun area in the north. It said trucks with the U.N. World Food Program transported them to distribution centers in the area Friday.
Iran on Saturday said unknown gunmen had killed a local staffer of the Iranian embassy in Syria, the official IRNA news agency said.
Its report quoted foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as saying “terrorists” opened fire on Davood Bitaraf’s car last Sunday. It did not say what he did with the embassy.
Baghaei said Iran considers Syria’s interim government responsible for finding and prosecuting those behind the killing. Iran had been a key ally of recently ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad.
Shurafa reported from Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Men pray over the bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp during a funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat arrive at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital before their funeral in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
An Israeli soldier observes the site where the missile launched from Yemen landed Jaffa district, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum)
