Diego Pavia: ‘We want a chance at the national championship’

Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt and the College Football Playoff. This is a serious sentence and Pavia would’ve said that preseason.

That was the message he echoed following Vanderbilt’s 40-35 upset of No. 1 Alabama Saturday night. Don’t worry, Pavia is already onto Kentucky next weekend.

But man, is he setting the bar high for the Commodores this season, now 3-2 on the year. 

“I love Vandy,” Pavia said postgame. “This is what I came here for. Came here to win big football games. Our ultimate goal is to go to the College Football Playoff, and so we want a chance at the national championship. Just how everyone else does. This is just a step in the way, and we just got to keep getting better. There’s still little mistakes out there that we got to clean up. But you know, any given Saturday, anything’s possible.”

This is the same team that lost to Georgia State and Missouri. It’s not a knock entirely, but it’s needed to put Pavia’s statement into perspective.

Essentially, Vanderbilt would have to win out, finish 10-2 and play for the SEC Championship in order to get to the CFP. But beating Alabama gave him and the team a new found confidence.

Coming up is Kentucky, Ball State, Texas, Auburn, South Carolina, LSU and Tennessee. 

That’s not an easy task at all! But don’t tell Pavia.

“S***, games like this change your life, you know what I mean? It’s a reality of NIL and all that stuff,” Pavia said on the field after beating the Crimson Tide. “I just want to stay grounded, be where my feet are every single day. Tomorrow, we gotta worry about Kentucky.”

Pavia and Vandy conquered Alabama. So logically speaking, they could conquer anyone if they play their cards right.

Pavia finished the game 16-of-20 passing for 252 yards, two touchdowns and ran for 56 yards on the ground.

He’s never been shy about his abilities. He dismissed the notion that he was a “poor man’s Trace McSorley” earlier this year. He compared himself to Johnny Manziel.

“It was through the grapevine. So I just had to show them what I do,” Pavia said on SEC Network’s Out of Pocket, via Robbie Weinstein. “I feel like I’m more of a comparison to Johnny Football. That’s who I am.”

Pavia certainly made his presence felt in his first game as a Commodore, beating Virginia Tech. His confidence was apparent during his postgame press conference, as well.

“I feel like I knew who I could be from the start,” Pavia said. “It’s a compliment to coach Beck and coach Kill trusting me to recruit me like out of the portal. People wanted me, but it was never Power Five, and I just feel like I’m the best player in the country, and I’m here to show it. That’s what I want to do, week in, week out, whatever it takes to win. And that’s my mentality every single week that I step on the field.”

The confidence never waned, he led the charge to beat Alabama, and there’s more to come. Maybe even the playoff in a weird world.