Vanderbilt vs. Alabama: Stadium Construction Hits Kalen DeBoer Hard as Team Prepares for Unprecedented Small Crowd in 75 Years

Thousands of fans were chanting “USA, USA..” and the energy in the crowd was off the charts last weekend. Yep! The excitement for Alabama football was electric last week when Donald Trump showed up to watch their game against Georgia. And that’s the kind of buzz Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide usually brings to the game. But it looks like things will be a lot quieter for their upcoming game against the Vanderbilt Commodores this Saturday.

On October 4, a Twitter (or X) account called @Bear Bryant’s Burner shared some news about the Alabama vs. Vanderbilt game: “Alabama will play at Vanderbilt Stadium, and because of construction, this will be the smallest crowd an Alabama team has played in front of (excluding COVID) in nearly 75 years.” Even if the stadium is full, it’s still going to be Alabama’s least-crowded SEC game in decades, excluding the COVID-affected games in 2020.

It’s definitely going to be a different vibe for Alabama. In their last game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, they faced the Georgia Bulldogs with over 100,077 fans in attendance. But this time, the crowd will be much smaller.

Vanderbilt’s FirstBank Stadium is undergoing construction, so seating is limited to just 28,934 people, down from the original capacity of 40,350. That means even with a full house, this will be Alabama’s least-attended SEC game since they played at the same Vanderbilt field in 1963, also in front of a small crowd. For a team like Alabama, which is used to playing in front of huge audiences, this is a big change. But despite the smaller crowd, Alabama still holds the advantage going into the game.

Kalen DeBoer and Co’s upper hand over Vanderbilt

Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama team has been dominating this season, with four straight wins. And with a 23-game winning streak against Vanderbilt, they’ve got a strong edge. In their last game, Alabama beat the Georgia Bulldogs 41-34. Quarterback Jalen Milroe had an outstanding performance, completing 27 out of 33 passes, running for 374 yards, and scoring three touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams also made an impression, catching six passes and running for 177 yards.

On the other hand, Vanderbilt isn’t having the best season. They’re on a two-game losing streak, but they did put up a good fight in their recent game against Missouri. Even though they were 18-point underdogs, quarterback Diego Pavia had a solid game, throwing for 178 yards, two touchdowns, and rushing for another 90 yards. Pavia’s ability to both pass and run makes him a dual threat that Alabama needs to watch out for.

So while the smaller crowd might take away some of the usual excitement Alabama is used to, they’re still the heavy favorites in this matchup. Vanderbilt might have some good moments, and Pavia’s performance will be interesting to watch, but with Alabama’s momentum and history of success, they’re likely to walk away with a comfortable win. But as always, you can’t completely count out the underdogs – they might have a surprise or two up their sleeves.