Diego Pavia threw for a career-high 484 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another score, leading No. 12 Vanderbilt past Kentucky 45–17 on Saturday to keep the Commodores’ College Football Playoff hopes intact entering the regular-season finale.
“This needed to be a statement win for us,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “He’s the best player in the country and deserves to be in the Heisman conversation.”
Pavia broke the program’s single-game passing record, surpassing Whit Taylor’s 464 yards set in 1981. He added 48 rushing yards as Vanderbilt (9-2, 5-2 SEC) secured its first nine-win regular season since 1915 and moved within one victory of the first 10-win season in school history.
Vanderbilt dominated from the opening drive, marching 15 plays over nine minutes for a field goal and controlling the tempo throughout. Tre Richardson caught three first-half touchdowns from 71, 15 and 56 yards as the Commodores built a 24-3 halftime lead and outgained Kentucky 359-79 before the break.
Pavia later connected with Junior Sherrill for a 7-yard score to make it 31-3 in the third quarter. Kentucky (6-5, 3-4) didn’t reach the end zone until the fourth, when Cutter Boley threw touchdown passes to J.J. Hester and Fred Farrier.
Vanderbilt finished with 622 yards of offense and held the Wildcats without a touchdown for nearly 50 minutes in a wire-to-wire performance that strengthened its postseason case.
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