College football world mocking Diego Pavia, SEC after latest bowl loss

With the SEC's claim of being the best conference in college football already looking flimsy, the No. 14 Vanderbilt Commodores looked to silence the critics in their ReliaQuest Bowl meeting with the No. 23 Iowa Hawkeyes.

Heading into Wednesday, the SEC had a 2-5 record in its bowl games, and the conference saw that loss total increase to six. Led by South Dakota State quarterback transfer Mark Gronowski, who accumulated 266 total yards and three touchdowns, the Hawkeyes went on to win 34-27.

While Pavia put forth a valiant effort in the loss, throwing for 347 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for 36 yards and a score, fans online did not hold back from criticizing him and the SEC.

Aside from the fact that fans of the other Power 4 conferences are loving the SEC's struggles during the bowl season, comments that Pavia made back in June on "Bussin' With The Boys" about the Big Ten have also resurfaced.

When discussing that other programs were pursuing him after the 2024 season, Pavia revealed he turned down a $4 million offer from another SEC school and numerous Big Ten offers. However, he also made sure to get in a jab at the Big Ten, saying he ignored those calls because he felt the conference was weak.

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A comment that fans made sure to remind Pavia and the SEC of following their latest bowl game blunder.

"He also claimed, “You only need to score 7 pts to beat Iowa.” Well….you scored 27….and took the L," commented one fan.

"SEC teams are trash. They have a couple teams that make the conference top-heavy, and the committee ranks their trash programs high to prop up those 2-3 good teams," said a second.

"Dude ran his mouth before the game & got hit in the mouth during the game. Enjoy your L and best of luck trying to make a Canadian Football League roster," wrote another.

"However overrated you think the SEC is, it’s not enough," joked one fan.

"Honestly, made the right choice. *Almost* won a Heisman thanks to the cupcake SEC," joked another.

"SEC, it just means more, unless it’s a bowl game then apparently it means nothing," commented one fan.

SEC logo seen on a chain marker during the third quarter of the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Florida Gators at Kyle Field | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

With Iowa's win over Vanderbilt, the Big Ten continues to look like the best conference in college football, moving to 7-1 this bowl season.

The Big Ten also has three teams in Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State vying for a title in the College Football Playoff. While many of us grew up with the SEC running the table in football, it appears that NIL and the transfer portal have evened out the playing field in a big way.

As for Pavia, Wednesday marked what could be the final game of his college career. However, the sixth-year senior is among the athletes hoping a federal judge will grant them an extra year of eligibility, as there is a belief that time spent at a junior college should not count against eligibility at the Division I level.

Pavia has discussed pursuing an NFL career, but he may want to run it back as college football's biggest villain in 2026.