Gumps, which upset feels worse - Bama vs ULM in 2007 or Bama vs Vandy in 2024?

ULM. Vandy is an SEC team.

A better comparison would be Vandy and the Stephen Garcia-led USC loss or the multiple losses to much less talented Auburn teams.

Vandy by far, IMO.

Vandy by far. DeBoer had the cupboard stocked and he added to that via the portal. Saban was building what Shula had left him.
Then you add to the fact that this team had
just came off of knocking the #1 team and vaulting themselves to #1. DeBoer had his signature win and signature loss back to back.

I actually think the loss to a Croom-led Mississippi State the week before ULM was the worst. Up to that point we had played well for most of the season and were not far removed from absolutely beating the brakes off of a pretty-highly-ranked Tennessee team that had been our boogeyman for several years, and playing a close game with LSU, the eventual NCs. But that loss to State... I did not take it well. After that, the loss to ULM was more or less, "Well... yeah, i guess I could see that coming." Add to that the fact that I was stationed in Florida at the time and the game was not televised so I had to tune in to the radio broadcast on the Internet, and it was more resignation than rage.

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Vanderbilt was projected to go 0-8 in SEC play

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Meaningless.

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already has a loss to Georgia State.

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The Bama team that lost to ULM beat some pretty good SEC teams. This Bama team that lost to Vandy has already beaten some even-better SEC teams.

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signature loss

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Don't say that yet.


Remember: it can always get worse

Expectations matter.

Your 2007 team was coming off of probation. Saban already won a Championship in the SEC. Y'all knew brighter days were ahead and that team didn't ever really have a shot at winning anything significant.

THIS is different. You were ranked #1. Your QB was the Heisman Frontrunner. You were coming off a huge win against then #1 ranked (and best program in America for the last few years) Georgia playing against the perennial cellar dweller of the conference. You can sugar coat and deflect all you want. This was a catastrophic loss.

I'm the furthest thing from an Alabama fan but I still can't wrap my head around what I whitnessed: #1 Alabama lost to fricking Vanderbilt.

Based on point spread, UL-Monroe was the worst upset in Alabama history. Alabama was favored by 24.5 points. The Vandy loss, where Alabama was favored by 23.5, is tied for third worst in program history. Number two was 1980 against Mississippi State. Alabama’s two worst upsets belong to Nick Saban and Bear Bryant respectively.

An interesting note is that in the past 5 years Hugh Freeze has two worse upsets on his resume, a loss when he was favored by 32.5 points at Liberty and last years loss to New Mexico State where Auburn was favored by 25 points,. Hugh Freeze owns two worse upsets than Alabama does in its 132 year history.

I haven’t read through the whole thread, but just in case someone mentioned LSU losing to Troy, LSU was only a 22 point favorite in that game. LSU’s worst upset was probably against Tulane in 1982.

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When it comes to Tulane, LSU hasn't lost since 1982, winning 18 straight. Before the 1982 meeting, the Tigers had won 24 of the previous 26 meetings. They have owned the series overall, compiling a 69-22-7 record. In 1982, LSU finished ranked 11th in the nation, which included a close 21-20 loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. LSU entered the game at 8-1-1 while Tulane entered at 3-7. But, that couldn't get LSU past the pesky Green Wave despite being favored by four touchdowns.

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And I don’t want Ole Miss fans to feel left out. They lost at home to Jacksonville State in 2010. Ole Miss was a 28.5 point favorite in that game.

The ULM game had me, at least for a little bit, wondering if we were still going to be stuck in the mediocrity that was the DuBose-Fran-Shula years. That loss carried with it the dread of unknowing, of potential mediocrity.

This game, OTOH, comes after the single greatest stretch in college football history (17 years: 6 national championships, 9 conference titles, 4 Heisman Trophy winners, an overall 201-29 record during that time). Speaking only on my own experience, it's easier to laugh at than that ULM game did.

One should keep in mind, I'm at the age of post-Bear, pre-Saban during my formative years. I only knew of the domination of 1960s and 1970s Alabama from stories and reading about it. To me, pre-Saban, the peak of Alabama football was the 1992 national title team followed by multiple years of not getting over the "Florida hump" in the SEC title game. So my perspective is vastly different from someone who basically only remembers a Nick Saban Alabama.

Doesn't mean I'm OKAY with us losing, but rather the "oh God, are we STILL going to be mediocre" vs "UGH, I guess the 17 year high really is over" have very different impacts.