Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia on Saturday ensured that Auburn coach Hugh Freeze will be seeing him in nightmares for quite some time.
Pavia led Vanderbilt to a 17-7 win over Auburn on Saturday, making them bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. Pavia was not great in the win statistically, but did the job by going 9/22 for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
More relevant for Pavia, however, is what the win represents in his personal battle with Freeze. With Saturday’s victory, Pavia has now beaten a Freeze-coached team in three consecutive seasons while playing for two different schools. Freeze has coached at two schools during that span as well, meaning Pavia has bested Freeze in three distinct matchups: one while playing for New Mexico State against Liberty, another with New Mexico State against Auburn, and Saturday with Vanderbilt against Auburn.
Officially one of the funniest things in CFB history
– Hugh Freeze's 2022 Liberty: 49-14 L against Diego Pavia's NMSU
– Freeze's 2023 Auburn: 31-10 L against Pavia's NMSU
– Freeze's 2024 Auburn: 17-7 L against Pavia's VanderbiltAverage spread of 3 road upsets: 19. Justice
— Jason Kirk (read my novel) (@JasonKirk_fyi) November 2, 2024
Freeze was well aware of this storyline heading into the game. During his weekly press conference on Monday, Freeze was full of praise for Pavia, though he said semi-jokingly that he was “sick of seeing that quarterback.”
Hugh Freeze compared Vanderbilt Football to Navy and said he was “sick” of seeing Diego Pavia.
pic.twitter.com/HQyZryfVUE— Aiden Rutman (@RutmanAiden) October 28, 2024
Pavia quickly shot to viral fame earlier this season after his team’s upset win over Alabama, and he has started to solicit NIL deals with his newfound fame. He could probably make a few bucks off being Freeze’s arch-nemesis at this point.
