Tag: Diego Pavia

Watch former Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel surprise Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia on ESPN

One of Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia’s heroes is Texas A&M legend Johnny Manziel, who surprised the young signal caller during an ESPN segment

The 2024 college football season has found its annual darling. The Vanderbilt Commodores, the usual bottom dwellers in the SEC, have found life in head coach Clark Lea’s third season, mostly due to an aggressive defense and the play of senior quarterback Diego Pavia.

Pavia’s football life is fascinating, to say the least. The under-recruited journeyman transferred to Vanderbilt after two impressive seasons at New Mexico State under head coach Jerry Kill, who is now a consultant with the Commodores.

Developing into a true duel-threat option, Pavia has been a problem for defenses, already throwing for 973 yards and eight touchdowns while running for 335 yards and two scores through five games. Pavia and the Commodores made headlines last weekend after defeating the then-No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, which was the program’s first win vs. a No. 1-ranked team since 1977.

Pavia is quickly becoming a household name due to his passion and love of the game. At the same time, several previous interviews have noted that his quarterback here is Texas A&M legend Johnny Manziel, whom Pavia learned from as a young man.

On Wednesday, during an ESPN College Football interview segment, Manziel surprised the quarterback by complimenting him on his play this season, as the 3-2 Commodores have an opportunity to take down another No. 1-ranked program in the Texas Longhorns later this month. Here is the full segment courtesy of On3 and ESPN.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia got a surprise from idol Johnny Manziel thanks to ESPN

How cool is this?

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is the toast of the college football world this week after he led the Commodores to their shocking Alabama upset this past Saturday.

During an interview with ESPN about the win, Pavia was asked about why he compares his game to former Texas A&M great Johnny Manziel.

“I think we kind of bring the same, electric mentality to the football game, to the football field,” Pavia said in the interview about comparing himself to Manziel.

Although Pavia said he’d not gotten a chance to talk to Manziel just yet, he added that he feels they’re both wired differently and would do anything to win.

Well, ESPN fixed that pretty quickly as the network surprised Pavia with a virtual meeting with Manziel, which delighted the Vandy quarterback.

“So fun to watch,” Manziel told Pavia about Vandy’s Alabama upset. “Couldn’t be happier for you. I mean, sitting there watching the whole thing play out, man. It has to feel like, you know, maybe 2012 for me.”

Pavia and Manziel’s exchange was pretty brief, but you could tell just how excited the Commodores quarterback was to meet his idol and how much Manziel appreciated his comparison.

After all, Manziel and Texas A&M shocked the world in 2012 when that team beat a top-ranked Alabama. It was only fitting that Pavia and Vanderbilt follow in those footsteps.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Vanderbilt charged $1,005 for goalpost pieces from its Alabama win (and sold out quickly)

Oh, right, Vandy grads have stupid money.

The Vanderbilt Commodores had never beaten the nation’s top-ranked team in the modern era of college football. It had been 40 years since they’d beaten Alabama, period.

But quarterback Diego Pavia and a hyperactive defense did just that Saturday, stifling the then-No. 1 Crimson Tide in a 40-35 win at home. It was such a monumental upset Vandy fans and students not only tore down their goalposts but got a police escort for the nearly three-mile march from campus to downtown Nashville. There, the equipment was summarily dunked into the Cumberland River as a raucous crowd celebrated.

The goalposts were later retrieved and returned to the university. Now, pieces of the discarded delineations between field goals and failure are on sale. Vanderbilt fans and alumni can now own a piece of last week’s historic upset.

For just $1,005.

https://twitter.com/TrainIsland/status/1843127102184513763

A four-inch piece of the waterlogged posts would have run you $1,005 at the school’s live online auction. Eight-inch pieces wound up selling for $4,035. As of publication time, both auctions are sold out. Thrifty shoppers can put in bids for the end zone pylons, which currently range in price from $1,300 to $1,500. Game balls range from $4,600 to $6,800 while the price for a custom gameday helmet is already up to $31,000 with three days remaining.

via https://desktop.livesourceapp.com/home;county=Davidson%20County;eventName=Own%20a%20piece%20of%20Vanderbilt%20Football’s%20historic%20win%20over%20Bama

That isn’t the only way Vandy is trying to monetize a literally unprecedented victory. When the clock struck zero Saturday night, staffers inside the university’s development office got to work thinking up potential donation amounts.

https://twitter.com/billyderrick10/status/1843126340377297351

Per sources inside Vanderbilt’s administration who wished to remain anonymous, the past year has been at least mildly difficult from a financial standpoint. The university is dealing with a triple whammy of construction costs, lower-than-expected fundraising turnout and the cost of buying out former basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse’s contract — not to mention a $100,000 fine for storming the field after Saturday’s win.

As such, you can’t blame the Commodores for milking this cow until it’s nothing but skin and bones. And with a wealthy alumni base eager to pay these prices, it’s clear this strategy works.

Diego Pavia leads upsets of Auburn, Alabama in consecutive years

Diego Pavia masters upsets of football teams from Alabama

The state of Alabama missed a good one in quarterback Diego Pavia.

Auburn and Alabama have learned that lesson painfully.

Pavia, a 6-foot-200-pounder, has quarterbacked teams that defeated the Tigers and Crimson Tide in consecutive seasons … at different schools.

The Pavia magic started in 2023 when he was the quarterback for New Mexico State. The Aggies went into Auburn and pummeled the Tigers, 31-10.

Pavia passed for 201 yards and three touchdowns in November when New Mexico State earned its first win over an SEC team in 28 tries.

Fast forward to October 2024. Pavia had transferred to Vanderbilt via the portal and was facing an Alabama team that had not lost to the Commodores since 1984.

Pavia did it again with his stirring performance against the top-ranked team in the country.

He was 16-of-20 passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Pavia added 56 rushing yards on 20 attempts as Vanderbilt downed Alabama, 40-35, in an all-time stunner.

Pavia was beyond jubilant in a salty interview after the game.

SEC quarterback rankings ahead of 2024 spring football

Where does Jackson Arnold rank among SEC quarterbacks heading into spring ball?

As the SEC expands to 16 teams in 2024, the conference is stacked at the quarterback position. From former five-star prospects to 2024 Heisman contenders to intriguing transfer additions, there will be some fantastic quarterback play on display this fall in the SEC.

Seven of the last nine Heisman winners have come from Oklahoma and the SEC. Two of those seven were non-quarterbacks, DeVonta Smith and Derrick Henry.

Much of what will determine which teams emerge as SEC title and College Football Playoff contenders will be on the shoulders of the quarterbacks who will lead their team in 2024.

There are some quarterback competitions that need to take place, but here’s our pre-spring ball SEC quarterback rankings.

 

Auburn falls to No. 31 in ESPN FPI following loss to New Mexico State

Auburn’s terrible loss drops them six spots in this week’s FPI.

The Auburn Tigers are coming off one of the worst losses in program history on Saturday.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s squad got blown out at home against New Mexico State, whom they were hoping would be a nice warm-up game before the impending Iron Bowl.

Auburn’s offense was non-existent in the loss. The running game only tallied 69 yards on the ground, while [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and the passing attack weren’t able to surpass 200 yards once again.

The defense wasn’t great either, as New Mexico State quarterback [autotag]Diego Pavia [/autotag] eclipsed 230 total yards and 3 touchdowns.

The loss un-shockingly shot the Tigers down the rankings in ESPN’s Football Power Index.

The FPI ranks each college football team by a variety of factors; Strength of record, strength of schedule, offensive efficiency, defensive efficiency, and overall efficiency.

Here is where Auburn ranks in each category ahead of the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare.

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs New Mexico State

The 6-4 Auburn Tigers have a great chance to win their senior day game on Saturday against the New Mexico State Aggies.

The 6-4 Auburn Tigers have won three games in a row heading into their season-day game against the 8-3 New Mexico State Aggies.

Auburn is coming off its best win of the season, dismantling Arkansas 48-10 in a game that was never close.

New Mexico State meanwhile has been great this season but may be without quarterback Diego Pavia on Saturday.

Pavia’s questionable tag and Auburn’s recent success have the Tigers as 23.5-point favorites according to BetMGM.

ESPN’s FPI agrees with the oddsmakers, as the model gives Auburn a 93.8% chance to send the seniors home happy with a win in their second-to-last game at Jordan-Hare.

Does the tale of the tape tell us this game could be closer than everyone expects?

As always, we’ll start with the most important players on the field, the quarterbacks.

Auburn quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has become an extremely valuable member of [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s offense after a sub-par start to the season.

The junior has thrown for 8 touchdowns during Auburn’s three game win streak, throwing 2 interceptions and scoring another touchdown on the ground.

The Michigan State transfer finally has the keys to the offense, and he is peaking at the right time ahead of the Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare and an eventual bowl game.

New Mexico State quarterback [autotag]Diego Pavia[/autotag] is one of the best small conference signal-callers in the nation.

Pavia has thrown for 2,257 yards this season. He is also the team’s leading rusher with 703 rushing yards.

The Aggies quarterback has scored 24 total touchdowns this year, making the gap between him and [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] closer than some might believe.

His status is uncertain for this game however, and his health problems as well as inexperience against good competition give Thorne the edge.

Auburn gets the edge on the offensive line and skill positions as well. Running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] is far and away the best player on the offensive side of the ball.

Hunter’s 853 scrimmage yards and 7 touchdowns lead all skill players in this game.

As for the big guys up front, the Tigers also have the clear edge, mostly due to the sheer size difference of the two units. The Aggies’ offensive line averages 307 pounds. Auburn’s big men average over 10 pounds more, at 317.4.

Auburn has the edge in every offensive category, although [autotag]Diego Pavia[/autotag] is a great player that Auburn will need to keep in check in he plays.

On the defensive side of the ball, the gap is more massive than my confusion the first time I walked into the Haley Center.

[autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag], [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag], and [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] lead an Auburn unit that ranks second in the SEC in defensive efficiency.

The Tigers give up just 21.3 points per game to opponents, which is 31st in the country.

New Mexico State’s defense has actually been better this season in OPPG, as the Aggies have given up just 20.3 points per game this year. Those number have come in a very below-average Conference USA however.

The Aggies allowed Liberty to score 33 points on them earlier in the season, showing they have struggled against above-average competition.

 

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