Vanderbilt Commodores Star Quarterback Listed as Bowl-Season 'Winner'

The Vanderbilt Commodores star quarterback put on a show in the Birmingham Bowl and was named as a Bowl-Season "winner."
Dec 27, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA;  Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (2) throws the ball on the run against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the second half of the 2024 Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
Dec 27, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (2) throws the ball on the run against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the second half of the 2024 Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
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The Vanderbilt Commodores and head coach Clark Lea shook up the college football landscape with their surprising 2024 campaign.

Handing the Alabama Crimson Tide their first of three losses on the year played a part in keeping the blue blood program out of the College Football Playoffs, and the Commodores won six other games on the year to mark their first winning season since 2013.

Vandy was given its first bowl nod since 2018 for its efforts, playing in the Birmingham Bowl on December 27 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Many expected it to be a tough matchup for Vanderbilt, especially after the Yellow Jackets took the Georgia Bulldogs, the SEC Champions, to eight overtimes in one of the most entertaining games of the year. Star quarterback Diego Pavia had other plans.

Pavia was responsible for all five of the Commodores' touchdowns in the bowl game, helping lead his team to a 35-27 victory over Georgia Tech on 13 of 21 passing for 160 yards and three touchdowns while adding 84 yards and two touchdowns on 17 rushing attempts.

It was a performance that the Vandy faithful have grown accustomed to this year, and Brad Shepard of Bleacher Report named that performance (and the fans that witnessed it) as one of the big winners of this Bowl Season.

"If you don't love watching Diego Pavia play college football, you don't love college football," writes Shepard. "The Vanderbilt senior who is going to suit up for the Commodores for one more season after transferring from New Mexico State after a JUCO career, and he has helped take coach Clark Lea's program to unexpected heights."

"They capped a winning season with a 35-27 Birmingham Bowl win over a Georgia Tech team that ended the regular season giving Georgia all it could handle. The final score seemed a lot closer than it was after the Yellow Jackets rallied late. When the game mattered, coach Brent Key's team had no answer for Pavia. Join the club, huh? Teams like Alabama and Texas had troubles with that throughout the season, too."

It was a statement win for Vanderbilt, Pavia, and Lea, letting the college football world know that they have arrived and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2025.

Pavia expressed as much after the game, telling Saturday Down South's Paul Harvey that the program is "missing maybe one or two more guys," and that once they have those they can be National Championship contenders.

That may be high hopes for the program as soon as 2025, but with what Lea has been able to do on the recruiting trail and through the transfer portal, a win total much closer to double digits can certainly not be out of the question.


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