Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia entered Saturday’s game at Auburn with a personal list of items to cross off.
One of those was to earn his second win over the Tigers in as many years, the other was to make [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and the coaching staff to regret not recruiting him last offseason during his stay in the transfer portal.
He accomplished both goals on Saturday by leading his Vanderbilt squad to a 17-7 win over the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium, a victory which launched the Commodores into bowl eligibility since 2018.
Following the win, Pavia shared his thoughts of the game, including his personal thoughts on Auburn. He mentioned that Auburn was one of several Power Four programs to pass on him last offseason following his decision to transfer from New Mexico State, and he wanted them to regret the decision.
“I’m just super blessed, highly favored. A lot of teams did not take a chance on me. (Auburn) are just another team that didn’t. So I wanted to make them pay for what they did.” Pavia said postgame.
His dream of beating Auburn for the second time in as many years began before the game, when he shared an Instagram story that featured lyrics from the song “Heyy” by Lil Baby, particularly the line “they thought I got lucky last time.” Auburn fans suggested that the story could be in reference to New Mexico State’s 31-10 win over the Tigers in 2023, a game where Pavia threw for three touchdown passes.
He later confirmed suspicions.
“They thought I got lucky. You heard what they were saying in the interviews, they thought I got lucky last time I was here (with New Mexico State),” Pavia said. “Just to prove it twice, I’m that type of guy to give it all I got on Saturdays. Today was an ugly win, but we found a way to win.”
Pavia led Vanderbilt to its sixth win of the season Saturday despite completing just 9-of-22 passes for 143 yards, but his two touchdowns played a major role in the win. In three games against Hugh Freeze-led teams, Pavia is 3-0 while passing for eight touchdowns.
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