All signs pointed to Austin Mack making his first start of the season for No. 3 Alabama against Vanderbilt on Saturday. But at the last minute, Alabama decided to start Keelon Russell, who’s dealing with an ankle injury, instead of Mack. That says a lot more about Austin Mack than it says about how healthy Russell is. Alabama should win its next two games, so the fact that the Crimson Tide coaches felt Mack didn’t give them their best chance to beat Vandy says a lot about how far he fell. He might not be a Power Four starter again, at this point.
Russell has been solid, giving Alabama the quarterback play it has desperately needed since Kalen DeBoer took over. Nothing against Ty Simpson —a first-round pick in last spring's NFL Draft — but Russell has done everything Bama needs him to do. If they were that worried that Mack would hurt the team that they’re risking further injury to Russell, that tells us everything we need to know about Mack.Â
How Vanderbilt can expose Alabama in a potential trap game
Vanderbilt entered having lost five of six. That team is in shambles. But remember a few years ago when Diego Pavia led the charge and helped the Commodores take down top-ranked Bama? A repeat required more than luck. It all comes down to how Bama’s offense looks with an ailing Russell. Where Vanderbilt can take advantage of Bama is forcing Russell to move. Even though his ankle isn’t hurting him enough to keep him out, he’s not 100 percent. Vanderbilt had to make DeBoer and the Crimson Tide regret playing Russell.Â
EJ Crowell has been a steady producer in the backfield for the Crimson Tide, but this game was always going to come down to quarterback play. Russell was listed as probably on the injury report, but reports indicated that Mack would start with Russell available if Bama needed him. The SEC Network broadcast noted that it was a true game-time decision. Ultimately, Alabama must have felt like it couldn’t win this game without him. Mack not starting not only goes to show the amount of confidence Bama must have in him, but it might show why this was his last chance to be a starting quarterback at a Power Four school.
Why Austin Mack needed to start this week vs. Vanderbilt
Mack isn’t just trying to keep Alabama in CFP contention with a trap game this week. He's also auditioning for the transfer portal. While he hasn’t officially announced that he’s going to the transfer portal, after he was beaten out for the job and the way Russell is playing, it seems likely that he will look for a new team. This was going to be his first start this season, so teams would have had a chance to see if he’s worth plucking away from Bama this offseason. He isn’t a great quarterback prospect, but all it takes is one team to be interested.Â
What exactly did Alabama's coaches see before the game that made them retract their original plan to start Mack? That’s not a good sign for him and a clear sign that he’s not as good as Bama wants him to be. This was the perfect game for him to resurrect his college career. Instead, it proved he’s far from being an SEC quarterback.
What this game will tell us about Vanderbilt
This isn’t a game Vanderbilt needs to win by any means, but after moving on from the Diego Pavia era, the Commodores need to show signs of improvement. That starts with five-star Nashville native Jared Curtis. He needs to show that he’s worth building around. A good outing against Alabama goes a long way to prove that. Outdueling Bama adds to the allure that Vandy isn’t far off from being in the SEC contention conversation.
That’s easier said than done, but they have done it before. It was a win against Alabama that sparked the Commodores to turn things around in the 2024 season. This game could very well have the same impact for a Vanderbilt team looking to stay relevant.
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