When the College Football Playoff expanded from 4 teams to 12 teams, the biggest concern was that the excitement of the Regular Season wouldn't be the same as losses that once defined seasons would simply become a bump in the road. While those feelings may still be true, we saw several upsets that truly shaped the College Football Playoff race.
No upset may have been bigger than when the Vanderbilt Commodores hosted the Nation's top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Coming off of a massive win over Georgia, the Crimson Tide entered the game looking like world beaters but, as the game went on Vanderbilt looked like they were on the same level as the Tide pulling of a historic upset.
What Vanderbilt did wasn't fluky as the Commodores beat Alabama in every facet of the game, controlling the game from start to finish. The loss set Alabama off on a path to miss the College Football Playoff which seemed impossible after their win over Georgia.
Ryan Williams all but guarantees an Alabama win over Vanderbilt
Ryan Williams sat down with former NFL Coach Jon Gruden, where he practically guaranteed that Alabama will dominate Vanderbilt this season.
Alabama fans have to feel ready to run through a wall as the Crimson Tide are going to be fueled by this upset loss when the teams take the field next year. The Alabama standard is to dominate programs like Vanderbilt and Williams, buying in on the standard will resonate with the team.
On the other hand, Ryan Williams gave Vanderbilt bulletin board material and even if he's right there isn't much he can gain. If Alabama wins, the Crimson Tide did what they were supposed to do as the far superior program. If Alabama loses once again, not only is it a disaster for Alabama but, Williams will become an internet meme forever and will likely regret giving the team what Nick Saban would call Rat Poison.
Alabama and Vanderbilt becoming a storyline matchup is a bizarre storyline to follow but, it's added a ton of intrigue to this matchup.