NCAAF News: Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia reveals motivational message during victory over Alabama

The historic victory last weekend of Vanderbilt over Alabama in NCAAF is still resonating with fans of the sport. Led by Diego Pavia, they secured an incredible win of 40-35 against one of the top title contenders, becoming the headline of the day. It was the QB himself who revealed a motivational message during the game to inspire his teammates to achieve such a feat.

In a crucial moment of the game, when the score was already in favor of the Commodores but there was still plenty of time on the clock, the clear objective was to generate as many first downs as possible to run down the clock.

Pavia made an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show and shared how that special moment in the game unfolded: “So when we got the ball back, when they scored and we were up by five, I said ‘hey, two first downs, we win this game, you change your life forever,’”

At that moment, a special message from the QB resonated with his teammates, ultimately leading to the historic victory. “That’s just the reality, you change this program’s life forever. So we were hyped, I said no dumb penalties, we can’t get behind the sticks, just play smart, play fast let’s go do this thing. Then first play hits for a 1st down, I said shoot, we might need three first downs.”

Diego Pavia #2 of the Vanderbilt Commodores throws the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the second half at FirstBank Stadium on October 5, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Diego Pavia’s inspiration

Following the historic victory of Vanderbilt over the Alabama Crimson Tide, QB Diego Pavia revealed his source of inspiration leading up to the game, focusing on quarterback Johnny Manziel.

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“Johnny Football, in his video he said he’s nothing to play with,” Pavia said. “I think the same way about myself. Just every time I step on the field, I feel like I’m the best player on the field. Every single time, that I just gotta keep showing up. It’s God’s timing.”

Jalen Milroe and the frustration of the loss to Vanderbilt

After the game where the Crimson Tide suffered their first loss of the season in the NCAAF, it was none other than their star QB Jalen Milroe who spoke to the press and made a major admission about his team’s performance.

“It’s all about how you can reflect and how can you refine and get better. That’s going to be critical for us to have the 24-hour rule. Regroup, refocus. Challenge each other to get better.”, the talented QB stated.