Alabama-Vandy Leads Saturday Viewership Despite Prime Time Rivalry Game
The Alabama Crimson Tide faced off against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, pulling in 6.4 million viewers. This SEC 2:30 game had more viewers than the ACC Primetime game featuring a rivalry game between the 3rd-ranked Miami Hurricanes (now No. 2) and the 18th-ranked Florida State Seminoles (now No. 25) that pulled in six million viewers.
Last year, for this same matchup, the game averaged only 3.31 million viewers. That's over a 3 million viewership gap, although it did peak at 6.99 million because the #1-ranked Alabama was down in the 4th quarter and went on to lose to the unranked Vanderbilt 40-35.
This year, it was more than just a game for the Alabama Crimson Tide; it was revenge. At the time, #10-ranked Alabama lined up against a much better Vandy team than last year, being ranked #16. Vandy was not just gonna roll over, though, getting an interception, Ty Simpsions' first of his college career, and scoring a touchdown on their first drive. It would take Alabama two drives to answer with a 14-yard pass for a Ryan Williams touchdown. Both teams went on to force the other to punt, but when Vandy QB Diego Pavia got the ball back, he made play after play and got his team in the end zone with 1:32 left in the half. Ty Simpson quickly responded, making great passes to Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard for a 27-yard touchdown with 17 seconds in the half, making it 14-14. The second half was all Alabama, with Conor Talty kicking three field goals and a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Jam Miller to end the game 30-14.
Ty Simpson led the way with 340 yards and two touchdowns. Jam Miller led the game in rushing while Ryan Williams tacked on 98 receiving yards. Defensively, Justin Jefferson led the way with 14 total tackles, and Keon Sabb pulled down an interception.
The Alabama Crimson Tide has now moved up to No. 8 in the rankings (4-1 record) while Vanderbilt has dropped to No. 20 (5-1).
More From Tuscaloosa Thread
