Diego Pavia Let Himself Down, But Clark Lea is Trying to Pick Him Up

TUSCALOOSA, AL—As Clark Lea walked into Vanderbilt’s south end zone locker room at Bryant Denny Stadium, he didn’t have to tell Diego Pavia much about his performance.

Pavia was already hard enough on himself after two red zone turnovers and 30-14 loss that he later blamed on himself. It was his worst performance in a Vanderbilt uniform and he knows it. The moment got even lower for the veteran quarterback as he got into a heated argument with an Alabama fan on the way off of the field at Bryant Denny Stadium.

Lea is doubling down on his quarterback, though.

“I just told Diego in the locker room ‘there's no one else I wanted to play at quarterback taking snaps,’” Lea said. “Tonight wasn’t meant for us, so we accept the pain of it and we learn and move on. And man, am I glad Diego is our quarterback. That hasn't changed.”

Oct 4, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (2) signs to a receiver at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Pavia completed just 21 of his 36 passes, threw for 198 yards, was intercepted and fumbled on Saturday night. The veteran quarterback admitted postgame that he “pressed” as Vanderbilt played from behind in the second half.

After the break, Pavia threw for just 110 yards and completed 50% of his passes. He also took his fair share of hits down the stretch of the game as Vanderbilt appeared to wear down in the closing moments of the game.

Pavia was consoled by teammates as he roamed around on the sideline in the final moments of the game and also received a hug and some encouragement from former Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel, who was donning his jersey, as the clock wound down. The Vanderbilt quarterback appeared to be frustrated as he entered Vanderbilt’s postgame press conference, as well.

That frustration was for good reason. Pavia said during the week–and truly believed–that Vanderbilt would “win big” if it played its brand of football. It failed to do that and lost by double digits as a result. If the Vanderbilt quarterback opens his phone, he’ll hear all about his failures on Saturday. Not in Vanderbilt’s locker room, though.

That meant something to Pavia.

“I love playing for Coach Lea,” Pavia said. “I told him that I hope he gets an NFL job and he takes me with him. I love that guy and I appreciate him for everything he's done for me. I wouldn't want to go to battle with any other head coach in the SEC.”

Lea has said repeatedly that when the ball is in Pavia’s hands, his team is never out of the fight. For the first time this season, Vanderbilt lost the fight and didn’t play “Vanderbilt football,” as Pavia said. There’s never been a quarterback competition in this program and there won’t be in the future. That’s not something that has to be written.

Vanderbilt crashed and burned on Saturday, though. Pavia’s brother stood in the front row of ESPN’s College Gameday crowd and held up a “Pavia 4 Heisman” poster before predicting a 17-point Vanderbilt win. Legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban called Pavia a “point guard” that makes all of his teammates better.

It was the ultimate spectacle to glorify one of college football’s biggest stars. Yet, he didn’t deliver.

But in the end, his head coach gave him the benefit of the doubt.

“So the one turnover, the fumble, we're going to look at the ball security element of that, he extended that play,” Lea said. “I believe that the defender came from the blind side, was able to get his hand on the ball, the throw. To me, it felt a little forced and trying to make a play. We got everything we wanted out in front of us. We have a good team.”