Alabama football linebacker Deontae Lawson let the pause hang for five seconds.
“I’m … ,” Lawson started.
Then the pause.
“… I’m hurt,” Lawson said.
Lawson stood looking for words after the No. 1 Crimson Tide had just lost a shocking upset to Vanderbilt in Nashville, 40-35. The Commodores beat Alabama (4-1, 1-1 SEC) for the first time since 1984. Ray Perkins was head coach then.
“We put a lot in this every day, day in and day out,” Lawson said. “To come up short is always disappointing. Just have to learn from it, get better and keep going.”
Lawson was among players searching for answers for what had transpired. Each player who spoke spun it forward to how Alabama moves past this, but that didn’t lessen the shock.
“Everybody’s pissed,” linebacker Que Robinson said. “That just shows great competitiveness. Obviously, nobody wants to lose. Even though Vandy’s a great team, but we’ve just got to put it behind us in the next 24 hours and move onto the next team.”
Vanderbilt, a sizeable underdog, jumped out to a two-score lead in the first few minutes of the game and never looked back. The Commodores scored on the opening drive then immediately scored another touchdown off a pick six that resulted from a deflected pass.
“We were just biting the cheese,” Robinson said. “We fell for, against Vandy .. They came out guns blazing. We picked it up a little bit later toward the second quarter. They just came out hot.”
Alabama certainly made a game of it, but the Crimson Tide never took the lead from the Commodores.
“Losing feels bad,” quarterback Jalen Milroe said. “It’s all about how you can reflect and how can you refine and get better. That’s going to be critical for us to have the 24 hour rule. Regroup, refocus. Challenge each other to get better.”
Robinson said the leaders will be telling the players to adhere to the 24-hour rule. No matter a win or loss, move on from it after 24 hours.
“You’ve got 24 hours to be as emotional as you want to be,” Robinson said. “But after those 24 hours, we’ve got to move onto the next team.”
Next up, Alabama will face South Carolina at Bryant-Denny Stadium. A quick reset will be required.
“The message in the locker room is just to stick together and keep playing football,” offensive lineman Tyler Booker said. “There’s a whole lot of football left for this football team. Trying to make sure we stay together and keep playing together.”
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
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