The epic celebration that followed Vanderbilt football’s stunning upset of No. 1 Alabama on Saturday got an assist from an unexpected source: Andrew Brunette, the head coach of the NHL‘s Nashville Predators.
The 51-year-old coach told the Nashville Tennessean that he briefly took part in the impromptu victory parade that saw an entire goalpost escorted out of FirstBank Stadium, ultimately landing in the Cumberland River.
Brunette was hardly the only innocent bystander to take part in the celebratory march. Even the Nashville Police Department was on hand to monitor the peaceful 3-mile march.
According to the Tennessean, the Predators held a postgame event across the street near 6th Avenue in downtown Nashville after the Predators played their final home preseason game at Bridgestone Arena. According to reporter Alex Daugherty,
At one point, (Brunette) said, the students dropped part of the goalpost on to a car, so he sprung into action.
“The kids dropped it on to a car, so I kind of helped them lift it up,” Brunette said. “So that was pretty cool, I at least got a little piece of it.”
Sunday, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced it was fining Vanderbilt $100,000 “for a first offense under the league’s current access to competition area policy.”
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 5: Vanderbilt Commodores student section celebrates before the game ends against the Alabama Crimson Tide at FirstBank Stadium on October 5, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. Fans of the Commodores removed the goal posts from FirstBank Stadium after the upset victory; even the Nashville Predators’ head coach assisted in the procession to the Cumberland River.
Carly Mackler/Getty Images
Vanderbilt beat Alabama 40-35, its first win ever against a top-5 foe in 60 tries. According to the Associated Press, it was the longest such streak in the poll era, which dates to 1936.
As measured by the final pregame point spread, only Northern Illinois’ (+28.5) win at No. 5 Notre Dame qualified as a bigger upset this season.
More news: Down Goes No. 1, Alabama Falls to Unranked Vanderbilt in Massive Upset
Before Saturday, the Commodores had 10 losses without a victory when Vanderbilt played the No. 1 team in the AP Poll, including losses to Alabama in 1980 and 2017.
Despite this history, the Commodores’ win was hardly a fluke. Vanderbilt held the Crimson Tide to 396 total yards compared to their 418 total yards. Alabama turned over the ball two times, the Commodores zero. Vanderbilt also had 26 first downs and controlled the time of possession, having the ball at 42:08 minutes.
Alabama only had the ball for 17:52 and had 17 first downs.
Brunette wasn’t watching the game in person, but he admits he got caught up in the moment of a historic upset.
“Obviously I wasn’t at the game,” he said, “but when you get to be in the city and see (the goalposts) coming down Broadway . . . it makes you want to do something special here on our side.”
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