Despite the bewildering loss to Vanderbilt, Las Vegas still has a little bit of faith in the Crimson Tide. According to FanDuel, the opening line is Bama -20.5 which basically translates to a three touchdown margin. It has since moved to 21.5.

Like many teams, South Carolina has been a bit of an enigma this season. Through five games, they are still the only team to dominate and destroy Kentucky (by the score of 31-6). Yet, the Gamecocks topped 1-4 Old Dominion by only four points.

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina is a wobbly 3-2. They have had only one road game, but it was the big Kentucky upset. They gave LSU a run for their money but then got stonewalled by Ole Miss.

ALABAMA

The fact that Alabama will be back home helps. A big unknown is how they will react to their upset defeat. Will they mope around or be pisst off? One thing that seems certain is that the Tide offense will put up some points.

MATH

With an over/under of 51.5 and 21.5 point spread, the final score could look something like BAMA 37, SCAR 15. Would you be willing to bet on this game?

Former Alabama football running back Damien Harris minced no words Sunday about Alabama’s 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt on a podcast with The Athletic, specifically taking aim at team captain and starting safety Malachi Moore for his outburst in the final minute of the game.

With Vanderbilt running out the clock for the win, Moore hit Commodores QB Diego Pavia late after a first-down run, then slung his mouthpiece and kicked the football after it had been spotted by officials to draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. He also seemingly waved off defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s attempt to substitute him out of the game.

MALACHI MELTDOWN: How Kalen DeBoer reacted to Malachi Moore outburst at end of Vandy loss

GOODBREAD: Vanderbilt set trap, and Alabama football stepped in it with both feet

“No. 13, Malachi Moore, brother, I don’t know you. I’m not trying to disrespect you. But what you did last night on that football field was complete and utter (expletive). You are a two-time captain. Somebody who has your hand and footprint in Denny Chimes. How did you show up yesterday?,” Harris said. “The only thing I remember seeing from you is slamming the guy’s head on the ground unnecessarily. Punching yourself, throwing your mouthpiece. Not even in a way of, like, OK, nobody’s looking. Like, ‘I’m bigger than the game. I’m bigger than the team. I’m bigger than this moment. Like, everybody look at me. Look at how pissed off I am. Look at what I got to say about it. Let me pick up a ridiculous 15-yard penalty for no apparent reason.’ And you call yourself a two-time captain?”

Moore was a captain of Alabama’s 2023 SEC Championship team, and was named a 2024 captain in the preseason by new coach Kalen DeBoer. Harris, retired from the NFL and now a CBS Sports analyst, had words not only for Moore, but for DeBoer as well.

“I’m gonna tell you exactly why he feels like he can act like that. You go and look at what Kalen DeBoer said in his postgame press conference about Malachi Moore. ‘Oh, well he’s one of our guys, and he’s one of our leaders. Yeah, we expect him to use this and only bring positivity the rest of the season.’ Man, damn that!,” Harris said. “What’s up with that? Nick Saban would have said that? No! That’s (expletive). That don’t help you win games. That does not help you control the talent and the level of guys that you’ve never coached before, guys that you’ve never had experience with, at a program that you don’t know what it takes to win these kinds of games. You just come in here and try to be everybody’s buddy-buddy. Try to be everybody’s friend. Well what does that get you? That gets you beat against Vandy on the road.”

Harris won two national championships and three SEC championships during his career at the Capstone. He rushed for 2,779 yards and 21 touchdowns over four seasons at UA from 2015-2019.

“I can tell you what would have happened in the days that I was there. We would have tried to rip the ‘C’ off his jersey. We would have lit him up,” Harris said. “From every coach, every player, Reuben Foster, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Da’ron Payne, Jalen Hurts, Jerry Jeudy, everybody would have been on this dude’s head, like we don’t do that.”

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.

By Daniel Matthews

Published: 22:17 BST, 6 October 2024 | Updated: 23:04 BST, 6 October 2024

Tensions boiled over towards the end of Alabama’s shocking loss to Vanderbilt, with defensive back Malachi Moore suffering a meltdown as the game slipped away.

The unranked Commodores secured a historic 40-35 victory over the Crimson Tide. It was the school’s first win over a No-1 ranked team in history.

Vanderbilt fans celebrated by tearing down the goalposts and dumping them in a river. Moore, meanwhile, struggled to contain his frustration as Alabama suffered a first defeat of the season.

With barely a minute left, he could be seen ripping out his mouthguard and hurling it down the field while Vanderbilt wound down the clock.

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The 23-year-old could then be seen screaming in frustration even while the game unfolded around him. 

Alabama star Malachi Moore suffered an epic meltdown during Saturday’s loss to Vanderbilt

Moore, No 13 for Alabama, kicked the ball away and slammed an opponent’s head into the turf

Moments later, after a QB kneel by Vanderbilt, the officials spotted the ball near halfway. Moore then stepped in and kicked it away, prompting an immediate flag. 

Another clip, which appeared online following the game, showed the safety slamming the head of Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia into the turf after a tackle.

Moore could be seen grabbing Pavia’s facemask and throwing his opponent’s head back. The footage sparked backlash among college football fans on social media.

The 40-35 defeat was the first loss for new Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer (pictured)

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a draft prospect nuke his entire stock during a kneel down, but if Malachi Moore had (a) dream of being drafted he should go ahead and plan a funeral, they’re dead and gone now,’ one supporter wrote.

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‘Pure leadership from the grad student here,’ another added.

Some even used Moore’s meltdown to suggest standards had slipped in Tuscaloosa since legendary coach Nick Saban was replaced by Kalen DeBoer earlier this year.

‘Malachi Moore would not have a locker in the morning if Saban was the head coach,’ one user wrote on social media.