Roman Harper: 'Not surprising' Clark Lea, Vanderbilt upset No. 1 Alabama 'because ball don't lie'

The Vanderbilt Commodores shocked college football with their win over the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide. It was a surprising outcome to many, but as Roman Harper explained he wasn’t surprised because “ball don’t lie.”

Harper made his comments during an appearance on SportsCenter. There, he credited Vanderbilt and head coach Clark Lea for how they performed in the game, explaining that the surprise comes from Alabama’s reputation but made sense if you just look at how well the team played.

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“Overall, man, it’s hurting a little bit,” Roman Harper said. “I’m not gonna lie, but honestly I’m happy for Clark Lea, Vanderbilt, the University of Vanderbilt, and those players. You’ve got to talk about it and what they did yesterday was amazing. They beat the number one team in the country.”

Late in the fourth quarter, Alabama scored a touchdown to cut Vanderbilt’s lead to one score. At that point, the Crimson Tide kicked off to Vanderbilt, looking for their defense to get a stop and get the offense the ball back with time to score again. However, the defense never got that stop and the celebration was on in Nashville.

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“You just talked about it,” Harper said. “This is the first time Alabama has last to Vanderbilt since 1984, but I’m not surprised — well, I am surprised, because Vandy beat Alabama but if you removed the the nameplates of these teams off the jerseys, then it’s not surprising at all with how this game went down because ball don’t lie. That’s what I love the most about this game, you’ve got to go out there and earn it. Nothing is ever given to you in football.”

For Vanderbilt, what was most impressive is that the win didn’t come down to good bounces. They played the better game on the field. Vanderbilt outgained Alabama 418 yards to 394 yards. That includes 166 rushing yards to 84 rushing yards. The Commodores had 26 total first downs while converting 12 of 18 third downs. On top of that, Vanderbilt won the turnover battle in the game, taking two away from Alabama without coughing the ball up at all.

A major reason why Vanderbilt was able to win was their ability to was how they controlled possession. The Commodores ran 75 plays to the 45 ran by the Crimson Tide, which helped Vanderbilt to hold the ball for 42:08 of the game.

“So, when you let a team possess the ball 42 out of 60 minutes. You get outrushed 166 yards to 84 yards. You also allow them to convert third downs 66 percent of the time, extending drives, staying on the field. Then, all of a sudden, you lose the turnover battle two to zero,” Harper said. “No matter what team that is, that is a winning formula at all levels of football, whether it’s pee-wee or on Monday Night or Sunday afternoon. That always wins for you. So, that is what Vanderbilt did. You’ve got to give them the credit because Clark Lea and those guys were ready and Alabama did not play their best game.”

For Alabama, this loss is a major setback but it doesn’t end the Crimson Tide’s chances of making the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt is walking away with one of the biggest wins in program history.