The feud between Vanderbilt and Nick Saban isn’t really recent news. It all started last year, when Vanderbilt was just another normal program. Because of that impression, Nick Saban once threw shade at Vanderbilt. “The only place you’re going to play in the SEC that’s not hard to play, Vanderbilt,” he said last year. “When you play at Vanderbilt, you have more fans there than they have.” That little jab on The Pat McAfee Show in 2024 didn’t sit quietly in Nashville. Fast forward to October 6, 2024, and that ‘easy’ trip to Vanderbilt turned into one of the biggest upsets.

Diego Pavia and the Commodores stunned the top-ranked Crimson Tide 40-35. The Commodores snapped a 40-year losing streak and sent Saban’s words echoing across social media and stadium speakers the night of the win. After that, whenever Saban appeared on Gameday, loud boos from Vandy fans surrounded him. But Saban is not the one to stay on someone’s bad side. So he quickly tried to make amends to Nashville, saying, “Let me say this, coach Saban is jumping on the Vanderbilt bandwagon.” The game had everything that was required to remove the old notion of Vandy football.

Diego Pavia completed 16 out of 20 passes for 252 yards and entered the end zone twice. The dual-threat QB even used his legs for 56 yards on 20 carries. After the game, Fans stormed the field at FirstBank Stadium, tearing down the goalposts in pure excitement. They carried the giant posts all the way down Broadway through Nashville. The fans required a change like that. When Clark Lea took on the helm in 2020, the Commodores were struggling with a rough 2-10 season. But Lea soon changed the narrative. He took over the defensive play-calling himself and brought in some creative new staff, including a few coaches and players from New Mexico State.

That risk totally paid off with guys like quarterback Diego Pavia and tight end Eli Stowers turned into stars. Last season, he led the Commodores to a 6-1 record in 2024 and their best AP poll ranking in almost 80 years. And beating Bama wasn’t their only big win. Vandy even knocked off Auburn 17-7 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It was the team’s first winning season and bowl victory since 2013. And even Nick Saban agrees that Vandy football has come a long way. “I don’t think there’s any question about it, this is a lot better Vanderbilt team this year than what they had last year,” Saban said. On top of that, it wasn’t just Lea who anchored the Vandy Success.

Diego Pavia played his part too. After Vanderbilt’s 31-24 triumph against LSU this season, Pavia announced himself as a legitimate Heisman contender. He completed 14 out of 22 passes for 160 yards and 1 TD. With everything going on in Nashville, it was about time Nick Saban got that apology. And before jumping on the Vandy bandwagon, Saban apologized for his last year’s comments, saying, “I want [to give] a public apology for saying that.” Though Bama won that game, the pre-game record showed Vanderbilt 5-0, whereas Alabama was carrying a 3-1 record.

Diego Pavia’s pre-game antics find Nick Saban’s voice

Vanderbilt might be the golden boy of Nashville. But his big mouth often attracts unnecessary attention to the program that’s not really required. Like recently, Pavia’s warm-up antics in Tuscaloosa turned into one of the wildest storylines of October. Before the game started, the Commodores quarterback took a knee in pregame warm-ups, mocking a victory formation on Nick Saban Field. And Saban is not the type of person to support these actions.

Previously, Saban was the person who sang praises for Pavia, saying, “Last year, to me, it was the Diego Pavia show. He ran it; they did quarterback runs; he dominated the game.” But Pavia’s arrogance forced him to change his stance. “I love Diego, but that would have been a catastrophic player-coach relationship moment before the game. I never wanted our players to ever do anything.”

Saban further added, “I didn’t even let them talk to the other team. [And] I never wanted them to do anything that was going to affect the other team’s motivation to beat us.” Then the game wrote its own script. Alabama dominated the second half in a 30-14 statement win. But the feud didn’t really end there, because Pavia isn’t the one to apologize. Instead, when an Alabama fan confronted him from the stands. Pavia clearly stated, I do whatever the f— I want ”.