Jacksonville State band trolls New Mexico State with Diego Pavia sign amid blowout
It seemed like everything was going Jacksonville State’s way Wednesday night against New Mexico State. The band was also having a night, and it trolled the Aggies by asking “Where’s Diego?“
That question, of course, refers to Diego Pavia. The former NMSU quarterback is now at Vanderbilt, where he engineered a thrilling victory over No. 1 Alabama last week to captivate the college football world.
At the time the ESPN2 cameras captured the sign, it was a 47-6 Jacksonville State lead. That advantage quickly grew to 54-6 with 14:46 to play in the game, but New Mexico State later got on the board again to make it a 54-13 ballgame with 10 minutes left.
Pavia put together a big year in 2023 at New Mexico State under Jerry Kill. He threw for 2,973 yards and 26 touchdowns to go with 923 yards and seven rushing touchdowns in the run game. Kill is now on staff at Vanderbilt and played a pivotal role in Pavia’s decision to become a Commodore.
Pavia became the story of the college football world with his huge performance against Alabama. He completed 16 of 20 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns in the air while also adding 56 rushing yards on the ground as the Crimson Tide had trouble stopping the option. That helped propel Vanderbilt to its first win over Alabama since 1984 – and it led to a celebration for the ages in Nashville.
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It all started with an NSFW postgame interview. Pavia let the emotions flow while speaking with Alyssa Lang amid a sea of students at FirstBank Stadium.
“It’s literally all God’s timing,” Pavia said. “Literally, from the jump. God gave me a vision when I was a little kid. And He don’t let back any promises. It’s God’s timeline. I’m super thankful. Super thankful for guys like Eli Stowers. Man, that kid’s are incredible. The rest of our team. I mean, look at this. Look at this. Vandy, we’re f—ing turnt!”
Diego Pavia had plenty of confidence Vanderbilt was going to rise to the occasion, though. He told On3’s Pete Nakos he heard the trash talk ahead of kickoff, but said that’s just football.
“They just thought they were going to whoop our ass,” Pavia said of meeting Alabama’s captains at the coin toss. “They were talking crazy, but that’s part of the game.”