A failure to get lined up quickly by the Alabama football offensive line contributed to one of the keys to Vanderbilt 's 40-35 upset win Saturday, according to Crimson Tide OL coach Chris Kapilovic.
Early in the fourth quarter, with Vanderbilt leading 33-28 after connecting on a short field goal, Alabama 's offense responded quickly on its first two ensuing plays, completions to TE C.J. Dippre and WR Germie Bernard totaling 36 yards. On the next play, Vanderbilt's Miles Capers blew past UA RT Elijah Pritchett for an 8-yard sack, and Milroe lost a fumble on the play.
"The play before, we had a good pocket, a good catch, and we were getting ready to go (up) tempo," Kapilovic said Wednesday. "One of their kids came by and kind of gave an elbow to our quarterback, so one of our O-linemen runs over there, then another runs over there, and we're trying to go tempo. So then we're trying to get lined up to go fast, and (Pritchett) takes a bad set and gets beat."
It was the Commodores ' biggest defensive play of the game, as it recaptured momentum as the Crimson Tide lost a chance to take its first lead. Vanderbilt drove for a what proved to be the game-winning touchdown off the turnover, to open a 40-28 lead.
"We've got to understand the situation," Kapilovic added. "Yes we want to protect our quarterback. He's a big boy. Nothing crazy happened. Let's get lined up and play the next play."
Alabama plays host to South Carolina Saturday (11 a.m. CT, ABC).
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
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This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: How Alabama OL coach explained Jalen Milroe sack-fumble vs Vanderbilt
