Nick Saban Calls Commodores A Challenge

Alabama football head coach had nothing but good things to say about the Vanderbilt Commodores in his Monday morning press conference.

"Now, we're getting into SEC games and certainly this first game is going to be a challenge," said Saban. "It's an SEC game. Vanderbilt's 3-1. Much, much improved team over last year. They have like 14 starters back, but they're scoring 42 points a game and they play two quarterbacks. Both of them are very, very capable. Very good athletes. They run the ball. They run some options. Very capable passing."

The Commodores have already won more games than in all of 2021 (2-10). With three wins in four weeks, Vanderbilt has beaten Hawaii, Elon, and Northern Illinois. The team lost to No.19 Wake Forest in Week 2.

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"14 (Will) Sheppard is one of the leading receivers in the SEC. Offensively, they play hard, they're tough. They've given up some yards in the games but they've played well enough to be able to be effective in winning three games. The kicking game is good. The punter is one of the leading punters in the country in terms of a 48.9-yard average. Joseph has done a good job of kicking for them," said Saban.

Commodores running back Ray Davis places at No. 9 in the NCAA for most rushing yards on the season, tied for No. 2 in defensive touchdowns, and the team ranks at No. 21 in scoring offense.

"This is a good all-around team and it's going to be a challenging game for us," said Saban.

The Alabama Crimson Tide takes on the Vanderbilt Commodores at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, September 24, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. CST. Coverage can be found on Tide 100.9 and the Tide 100.9 app, which is free to download in the App Store.