Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia isn’t short on confidence. After leading the Commodores to their first bowl game since 2018 last season, the 24-year-old Pavia — who was granted an extra year of eligibility in the offseason — is setting his sights much higher in 2025.
It starts in Vanderbilt’s own state, where Pavia believes the Commodores will rise to the top.
“Vanderbilt’s gonna run Tennessee after this year,” Pavia said during a recent appearance on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast. “Like, this is going to be the new staple of college football. It’s going to happen here at Vanderbilt.”
To ascend to the proverbial throne would mean downing in-state rival Tennessee, which has dominated the Commodores in recent years. The Vols have won each of the last six games in the series by double digits. Vanderbilt has only beaten Tennessee six times since the turn of the century, including a three game winning streak from 2016-18.
“Everyone wants to come to Tennessee because of Nashville,” Pavia said. “So they want to come to Nashville, so Vanderbilt, and then when we have, like, the most money in NIL, why not come here? We literally just have to win this year and throughout the rest of the year will take care of itself.”
Vanderbilt ends the regular season in Knoxville on Nov. 29. The Commodores also likely have an Oct. 4 trip to Alabama circled, highlighted and underlined.
Vanderbilt stunned the then-No. 1 Crimson Tide last season to earn its first win against a top-five team in program history. Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams stoked the flames of a burgeoning feud earlier this month when he said that the Tide are going to “kill an ant with a sledgehammer” when they play Vanderbilt next year.
“I always thought we could win,” Pavia said of the 2024 Alabama game. “That’s just how I approach the game. If you go in there with a losing mentality, you’re screwed already.”
Pavia’s expectations go well beyond the SEC, though. Along with Pavia, Vanderbilt returns key players on both sides of the football, including tight end Eli Stowers, who earned first-team All-SEC honors last season as Pavia’s top target.
“We’ve got the guys to go do it,” Pavia said. “We’ve got the firepower. We’ve got the depth. We’ve got the defense, the offense. We would be selling ourselves short if I was to sit here and tell you we don’t have the faith to go win the national championship.”
