NCAA football fans were treated to an upset of unimaginable magnitude Saturday when the Vanderbilt Commodores, a program that has been searching for years, toppled the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide. Backup quarterback Jérémy St-Hilaire experienced this moment of rare euphoria up close.
Vanderbilt won 40-35 in one of the biggest upsets in history. The Nashville-based university was not ranked among the top 25 college teams in the United States, while the University of Alabama reigned at the top spot.
To understand the magnitude of the shock, you must know that in its 121-year history, Vanderbilt had a record of no victories and 10 losses when facing the number one ranked team in the country. His 0-60 lifetime record against top 5 teams is even more telling.
“I’m definitely going to remember this all my life. You are small and you dream of winning matches like that. Even if I didn’t play, it was incredible,” exclaimed St-Hilaire, a former member of the Dynamiques du Collège Charles-Lemoyne, in a telephone interview with The Journal.
Posts that have traveled
The victory was so unexpected that at the end of the game, Vanderbilt fans jumped onto the field, then climbed the goal posts to knock them to the ground.
They then took the poles out of the stadium and walked a mile and a half to throw them into the Cumberland River. A few smart people have even sold pieces of these 10 cm posts online for $1005, or $4035 for 20 cm ones.
“At Vanderbilt, we don’t have as many fans as the other SEC teams, but starting this weekend, I think we’re going to have a lot more. Matches like that are everything for them. In the SEC conference, there is God and football for the people. It really works like that,” reacted St-Hilaire.
Auspicious
The worst part was that before the game, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban famously said in his new role as an analyst that Vanderbilt was the easiest place to play. win in the entire SEC conference.
“We are the only ones in the world who knew we could win this match. We all saw the statement. It was definitely an additional motivation,” said the 18-year-old student-athlete, who is 6’4” and 220 pounds.
Moreover, the present team maintains an astonishing 3-2 record and will try to complete a first winning season since 2013.
St-Hilaire, on a personal level, continues his learning in training and plans to see the field within two years.
“We will try to get as many victories as possible to go to a bowl. I am very happy with my choice. I knew I wasn’t going to play this year, but I’m happy to improve my football while continuing my studies.
