Alabama has their best football ahead of them, as they've managed to maintain great momentum for the majority of the season.
Now boasting a 7-2 record, the Crimson Tide still has all of their goals ahead of them: making the SEC Championship game and the College Football Playoff. To ensure those goals are still met, they must win their remaining three regular-season games and leave no room for error.
The Crimson Tide are 3-0 on the road, claiming their third road victory in Death Valley, defeating the Bayou Bengals 31-13 last Saturday. The physicality the Crimson Tide displayed in Baton Rouge will need to translate over to Nashville as they visit Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The last time Alabama came off an impressive victory and had a turnaround trip to Nashville, they suffered a loss and never took control of the game; a major reason for Vanderbilt's success was quarterback Diego Pavia, who posed a major threat.
Some of Alabama's current players were not a part of the team during that defeat, but the message has been clear regardless of who was or wasn't on the team: win the football game no matter who the opponent is and regardless of what happened in the past.
"We're not really talking about the 2024 trip. I wasn't here; a lot of people weren't here. We're worried about what's going on this week; we got a whole new team. We're just worried about playing them this year," said Dijon Lee during Tuesday's media availability.
Despite Vanderbilt's season not going as planned, quarterback Jared Curtis has shown upside to his game and has been a key instrument in moments of success.
"He's a good quarterback for sure; he's really good. Young, he makes mistakes, but at the end of the day, we know what he's capable of. If he puts the ball in the right place, which he does on fade balls a lot, it's going to be a tough game. We just really have to account for him and play our game," said Lee.
Curtis relies heavily on the fade ball, which has been a staple of his passing arsenal. He has elite arm talent and the ability to drop accurate deep shots along the boundary, which has been a major reason opposing teams have suffered a loss at the hands of Curtis.
Since claiming the starting job, Curtis has added an exceptional touch and chemistry to the Commodores, who are trying to find as much success as possible to end the season with a bowl game appearance.
In 2024, Alabama was favored over Vanderbilt, same as this year, but the quarterback was a major reason as to why the Crimson Tide failed in Music City. With the Commodores looking to finish out the season with multiple victories, and Curtis looking to make himself stand out, there's no doubt that the game won't be at least somewhat competitive.
For Alabama, success needs to be established from kickoff; containing Curtis early can build momentum and set a tone that sings throughout the game.