Quarterback Diego Pavia became a Vanderbilt hero last season when he led the Commodores to a 40-35 upset of then No. 1 Alabama. Pavia went 16-of-20 passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns and added another 56 yards on the ground in Vanderbilt’s first-ever win over a top-ranked program.
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The win helped spark the Commodores to its first winning season since 2013. Vanderbilt has kept the momentum early this fall, starting the campaign 5-0.
No. 16 Vanderbilt is getting set to travel to Tuscaloosa to play No. 10 Alabama on Saturday, and Pavia has plenty of confidence going into the contest.
“I don’t know what they’re doing. I just focus on us, but I know we’ve got to bring it,” Pavia said of the upcoming game against Alabama, via On3 Sports. “That’s for sure. The crowd, I think, is going to be a big factor in the game. But we just gotta play within the white lines. If we do that, if we play our game, it won’t be close.”
Pavia knows the Crimson Tide want revenge following an embarrassing upset last fall that led to an ultimately disappointing 9-4 record in head coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season with the program. He also understands Alabama might be fired up after his comments in the offseason and before the game, but that won’t stop him from talking trash before Saturday’s rematch.
“I only care about God, football and family. That’s it,” Pavia said. “If you ain’t in those three things, I don’t really care what you think.”
Pavia sounds confident, and he’ll need to stay that way through Saturday if the Commodores are to pull off another upset of a motivated Alabama.
Alabama has plenty of other inspirations to beat Vanderbilt besides Pavia. The Crimson Tide began its season with a brutal 31-17 loss to Florida State. After beating No. 12 Georgia in Week 5, Alabama needs to win on Sunday to stay in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.