Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia didn’t hesitate to own his mistakes following Saturday night’s 30-14 loss to Alabama.
“I think they…won the time of possession,” Pavia said. “And then I felt like myself, I pressed too hard because I knew that time was limited, and then you know you can’t turn the ball over twice in the red zone and expect to win in these clash games.”
Pavia finished 21-of-35 passing for 198 yards with one touchdown and one interception, adding 58 rushing yards on 12 carries. Both turnovers came deep in Alabama territory. “I think we were up the first one, 7-0, marching down,” he said. “Gave pump fake, went to tuck it. They stripped it. But that’s just football, you know. And then the second one, the cross over to Eli (Stowers), I just didn’t see him.”
2⃣0⃣ pic.twitter.com/Lg3kdpUdAv
— #20 Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) October 5, 2025
Even in defeat, Pavia praised his coach. “I love playing for Coach Lea,” he said. “I told him that I hope he gets [an] NFL job and, you know, he takes me with him. That’s how much I love that guy and I appreciate him for everything he’s done for me. You know, I wouldn’t want to go to bat with any other head coach in the SEC.”
As the Commodores head into their bye week at 5-1, Pavia emphasized recovery and reflection. “First is recovery. We got a few guys banged up, but then after that, you know, it’s work on the little things. We’re not too far off,” he said. “We’re the best second-half team in the country. We just didn’t show it tonight. We didn’t play Vanderbilt football. That’s what it comes down to.”
He kept faith in the team’s goals. “We’re pressure fighters and we didn’t show it tonight, but you know we just got to get back on the drawing board. This game doesn’t define us. We got every single goal that we want out in front of us, that’s a national championship.”
Looking ahead, Pavia turned the page quickly. “We go into bye week and then we have LSU coming in town, which is a really talented team. So we got to prepare for them,” he said. “We’ll get back to the drawing board and I’ll be better for this team. I can’t wait to take this bye week, enjoy ourselves, have some team camaraderie, and then get back on the drawing board for LSU.”
More College Football News:
- Coach Prime calls for leadership after loss
- Deion sounds alarm on his health
- Kirby Smart credits Georgia’s resilience
- Bill Belichick takes blame for loss
- James Franklin reacts to UCLA loss