Vanderbilt takes down No. 1 Alabama 40-35 in historic college football victory

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Fans of the Vanderbilt Commodores danced onto the field, jumping up and down as they tore down a goal post, carried it out of the stadium and rang out sweet sounds of victory.

Then they toted the goal post just over a couple miles and tossed it into the Cumberland River.

Their school's historic win over No. 1 Alabama deserved to be celebrated this way.

Sedrick Alexander ran for two touchdowns, Randon Fontenette scored on a pick-six and Diego Pavia outplayed Heisman Trophy candidate Jalen Milroe as Vanderbilt stunned Alabama 40-35 on Saturday for the Commodores' first win over the nation's top-ranked team.

Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) had lost all 60 games against AP top-five teams, according to SportRadar. The Commodores hadn't beaten Alabama on the field in 40 years, but they snapped a 23-game skid making big play after big play to give coach Clark Lea his alma mater's biggest win ever.

“This is the dream, right here,” Lea said. "And for the next 12 hours, I’m going to enjoy the dream. We’ve got more ahead of us, but this is what Vanderbilt football needs to be about: Big wins on big stages. We’re going to go get some more.”

The Commodores scored the first 13 points and took a 16-point lead that was their largest ever over the No. 1 team in the country. Only Jam Miller running for his second TD just before halftime trimmed that to 23-14.

Alabama had just moved to the top of the AP Top 25 last week after a win over then-No. 2 Georgia. It'll be a short stay, and first-year coach Kalen DeBoer said it's back to work for a team that wasn't at its best Saturday.

“We’re going to find out really how much we care about each other and what it looks like moving forward,” DeBoer said. "We’ve been tested in different ways really a lot of the games here this season, and this is a different type of test now in our response.”

Alexander capped the game's opening drive with a 7-yard TD to put Vandy ahead to stay. It marked the first time since 2007 that Vandy had opened a game against Alabama with a TD, the last time being Nick Saban’s second game as coach.

The Tide (4-1, 1-1) helped Vanderbilt pad that lead with too many mistakes, sloppy play and penalties.

Alabama got to 30-28 with Milroe's 58-yard TD pass to Ryan Williams.

The Commodores answered with 10 points. Of their total, 13 came off Milroe's two turnovers, the second a strip sack by Miles Capers recovered by Yilanan Ouattara at midfield.

Pavia capped the drive with a 6-yard TD pass to Alabama native Kamrean Johnson with 5:07 left for a 40-28 lead. Milroe tried to rally Alabama, with Williams scoring on an end around on fourth-and-1 from 2 yards out with 2:46 left.

Vanderbilt fans and players started celebrating as Pavia knelt down to run out the clock.

“Games like this change your life,” Pavia said.

Milroe had his second pass of the game tipped into the air by De’Rickey Wright, who committed to Alabama and wound up at Vanderbilt. Fontenette grabbed the ball and ran 24 yards to the end zone for the pick-six and a 13-0 lead at 8:03 of the first quarter.

Vanderbilt jumped out to a 23-7 lead, just the second time in the last 10 seasons that a No. 1 team trailed an unranked opponent by 16 or more points.

Vanderbilt never trailed as the Commodores played keep-away, holding the ball for just over 42 minutes. Alabama had a 312-252 yardage advantage on offense. It didn’t matter with Vandy converting 12 of 18 on third downs wearing down the Tide defense.

Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson said it's early and everything remains in front of the Tide.

“We never want to feel this again,” Lawson said.

Alabama will drop out of the top spot after this loss to the SEC’s perennial cellar dweller. Alabama now is 64-4 against unranked teams as the AP’s top-ranked team.

Alabama: The Tide played sloppy coming off an emotional win over Georgia and hurt themselves with too many penalties. The Tide had six penalties for 57 yards. They also failed to sack Pavia even once.

Vanderbilt: Lea’s numerous offseason changes paid off, and those included bringing in Pavia as a graduate transfer along with his head coach and offensive coordinator from New Mexico State. ... Kicker Brock Taylor also got a much-needed confidence boost after missing two field goals in the second overtime of a road loss at then-No. 7 Missouri. After having his second extra point attempt blocked, he came back to make a pair of field goals, including a 51-yarder.

Alabama returns home to host South Carolina.

Vanderbilt visits Kentucky.

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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 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 quarterback Diego Pavia (2) dives for extra yards past Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell (11) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Vanderbilt takes down No. 1 Alabama 40-35 in historic college football victory

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)

Vanderbilt takes down No. 1 Alabama 40-35 in historic college football victory

Hanukkah — also spelled Chanukah or other transliterations from Hebrew — is Judaism’s “festival of lights.” On eight consecutive nightfalls, Jews gather with family and friends to light one additional candle in the menorah — a multibranched candelabra.

In Hebrew, Hanukkah means “dedication,” and the holiday marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC, after a small group of Jewish fighters liberated it from occupying foreign forces.

With the tiny supply of ritually pure oil that they found in the temple, they lit the menorah — and it stayed lit for eight days. The ritual of lighting a nightly candle, as well as the emphasis on cooking foods in oil such as potato pancakes called latkes, memorialize this miraculously long-lasting oil.

The dates of the holiday are based on Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually coincides with November-December in the Gregorian calendar.

This year, Hanukkah will be celebrated from Dec. 25, 2024, through Jan. 2, 2025.

Jews across the religious observance spectrum — from Reform to Conservative to Orthodox — focus on the same theme of bringing light into the darkness and emphasizing that even a small, against-the-odds effort can have a transforming effect.

For this reason, even though the Talmud reflects a dispute over the order of lighting, most start with one candle and increase the lighting by one more candle each night while reciting or chanting special blessings.

The candles are added from right to left, but lit from left to right on the menorah, thus always starting with the newest light. The special menorah used for Hanukkah has eight branches, with a ninth place for the candle called shamash from which all others are lit.

The tradition calls for candles with a real flame, though some also use electric ones in public displays, such as in hospitals, for safety reasons.

A menorah is lit in each household and traditionally is placed where it can be seen from the outside, such as a doorway or windowsill, to symbolize the spreading of God’s light to all nations.

The lighting of menorahs in city streets and parks has become more prominent in recent years in countries around the world, including in front of public landmarks.

In addition to menorah lightings, giving to charity and social works are also part of the celebration for many, reflecting the belief that the Jewish people are called by God to help make the world better for all.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Rabbi Peter Tarlow lights a candle on a menorah during a Chicanukah event at Holocaust Museum Houston on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)