Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia after beating No. 1 Alabama: "Tomorrow, we gotta worry about Kentucky"

Vanderbilt snapped a 60-game losing streak against AP top five teams — the longest in college football dating back to 1936 — with a historic 40-35 upset over No. 1 Alabama. The Commodores did so on the back of Diego Pavia, the quarterback transfer from New Mexico State who threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in the win.

Surrounded by fans ripping down the goalposts and preparing to burn Broadway to the ground, Pavia gave an all-time postgame interview with SEC Network’s Alyssa Lang — one that is not suitable for young ears (and did not make the FCC happy).

“It’s literally all God’s timing. Literally from the jump, God gave me a vision when I was a little kid. He don’t let back any promises, it’s all on God’s time,” Pavia said. “I’m super thankful. Look at this — Vandy, we’re ****ing turnt.”

Quite the transition, but hey, how many times do you get to beat the No. 1 team in the country to break a 60-game losing streak? It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the NMSU transfer, who has now won the most games by a quarterback as a 21-plus-point underdog over the past 20 seasons with three.

And he used that moment to talk about Kentucky, Vanderbilt’s opponent next weekend in Lexington.

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

"VANDY WE'RE FUCKING TURNT."

– Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia. pic.twitter.com/RK46inCmA0

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 5, 2024

Alabama had won 23 consecutive games against Vanderbilt, a streak dating back to 1984. The Commodores had scored just 13 total points in four games against the Crimson Tide under Nick Saban, but put up 13 in the first quarter on Saturday.

Now, Vanderbilt will bring that momentum to Lexington ahead of next weekend’s matchup against Kentucky.

“We need to celebrate this and enjoy it and savor for the moment, and then in 12 hours we need to turn the page and focus on Kentucky. That’s what we’ll do,” head coach Clark Lea said after the upset. “This isn’t an arrival for our program. It’s the beginning in some ways. I do feel like this is a breakthrough moment for us, but it only matters — it only matters in terms of the climb we’re on and the journey if we turn and get right back into our process.

“You know how much this means to me. I love our university, I love our city, I love our program.”

Zero chance the Cats are overlooking the ‘Dores this time around.