This season is all about unexpected turns of events. One such example is the Vanderbilt Commodores and their remarkable gameplay in the ongoing tournament. Not only is the team coming off pretty strong, but they also pose a threat to their opponents. This is evident from their victory against the championship-winning team, Alabama. Well, one of the key contributors to their success is star QB Diego Pavia. After securing a remarkable win of 17-7 against the Auburn Tigers, Pavia talked about something unexpected that motivated him to showcase a high-end game against the Tigers.

Today, in a recent episode of The Next Round, Vandy’s star quarterback Diego Pavia revealed his actual reason behind what has been fueling him to perform at this level against the Tigers, saying, “I’m just super blessed, highly favored. A lot of people didn’t take a chance on me. You know, they’re just another team that didn’t, and so I just want to make them pay for what they did.” In fact, Auburn’s head coach, Hugh Freeze, and Diego Pavia have a long history of rivalry, and winning against his team is something Pavia can’t ever miss.

Speaking of their rivalry, let’s discuss the clashes between Diego Pavia, who played for New Mexico, and Hugh Freeze, who coached Liberty, in their past two encounters. On both occasions, Pavia ensured that Freeze’s team had lost to New Mexico. It was evident that Pavia’s strong offense played a significant role in their victories. Now you can understand why this was a do-or-die game for Pavia.

Moreover, Hugh Freeze has also never let any chance go without giving it back to Diego Pavia. Ahead of their game, Freeze made a joke about Pavia and said, “I’m sick of seeing that quarterback; I’ve had enough of him.” Moreover, Freeze also appreciated the kind of player he was and praised his performance in the season. However, even Pavia didn’t hide from taking a subtle shot at Freeze before their actual showdown.

Diego Pavia took a subtle shot at the Hugh Freeze & Co.

Well, even before their actual faceoff, the verbal wordplay already started between the two teams. Ahead of Vandy’s game against the Tigers, quarterback Diego Pavia posted a cryptic Instagram story with the lyrics, “They thought I got luck last time,” from Lil Baby’s song “Heyy,” followed by a clock emoji. It seemed like a subtle dig at head coach Hugh Freeze and his team, referencing Pavia’s previous win over Auburn when he played for New Mexico State. But Pavia backed up his confidence, leading Vanderbilt to a 17-7 victory over the Tigers, showing that it’s not just ‘luck.’

In fact, Pavia was the one holding Vandy’s position upright in the game by completing 9 out of 22 passes and running for 143 yards with two touchdowns. Now it’s easy to see why Freeze is quite ‘sickened’ of Pavia. His plays led to a disappointing 3-6 record for Freeze’s team, while Vanderbilt is thriving at 6-3. After all, the QB has made his Vanderbilt team bowl-eligible for the first time since 2018 after their recent win against the Tigers. It’s surprising to see this season’s biggest dark horse turn out to be a promising team; then how can such things be ignored? This season will always be remembered as Diego Pavia’s, which led Vandy to new heights.