Alabama left Nashville with a 21-6 win over Vanderbilt, and Kalen DeBoer’s message afterward was simple: take the victory, then keep pushing for more.
The No. 3 Crimson Tide didn’t put together a clean performance at FirstBank Stadium, but it still handled business on Saturday. Keelon Russell played through an ankle injury and finished 22 of 33 for 217 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, while Daniel Hill gave Alabama a steady ground presence with 14 carries for 89 yards.
DeBoer pointed first to the result, then to the areas he wants sharpened.
“Got the win. You’d love to separate yourselves more ... Liked what we did at the end of the half.”
He said “separating yourself” is one part of the performance he wants to see improve going forward. He also singled out Hill’s work on the ground and thanked the fans, saying, “We appreciate you guys.”
The Alabama defense did its job in key moments, limiting Vanderbilt to just two third-down conversions and one fourth-down conversion on four tries. DeBoer said the unit has been trending in the right direction.
“Been really good to see here the last few weeks ... attacking.” He added, “Really like the way they’re flying around.”
He also said the defense opened the game with the right edge.
“I thought they came out with a great mindset, attacking.” DeBoer added, “Getting off the field on the first third down is key ...
We didn’t get the takeaways ... We lost the turnover battle.
That’s a big deal for us ... But we’ll continue to go back to work as a team to make sure that is the emphasis and we win that battle.”
Russell’s availability was one of the biggest questions entering the game, and DeBoer said the quarterback kept improving as the week went on.
“I think every day he was getting better ... The last 24-48 hours, a lot of improvement.”
He said Alabama handled Russell’s status carefully throughout the week.
“We were definitely playing it day by day here throughout this week ... Especially the end of the week not really know the last 24 hours what direction we would go.” DeBoer added, “If he can go (against Chattanooga), I would expect him to go.”
Special teams also drew praise after Dijon Lee’s kickoff return helped Alabama create momentum.
“It’s huge. Our special teams has made a couple big plays now, setting us up the last couple weeks.” DeBoer also highlighted the blocking and the fact that Alabama avoided flags on those plays.
He said Vanderbilt brought the kind of fight he expected.
“Vandy ... they’re going to fight. Coach Lea does exactly that.”
DeBoer closed by stressing the same themes he returned to throughout the press conference: health, rhythm and steady improvement.
“We’ve just got to continue to move forward ... It’s just health and rythym as we go through our week of practice.”
He also addressed the tight ends with Josh Ford out, pointing to Danny Lewis.
“Told Danny earlier in the week this is his opportunity now.” DeBoer said, “We’ll continue to work him into the mix.”
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