Vanderbilt pulled off an upset against No. 11 South Carolina on Saturday, and comedian Theo Von was one of the unexpected winners of the night.
Von was on the Vanderbilt sideline for the Commodores’ 31-7 win over South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. He was shown on the SEC Network broadcast late in the third quarter, and sideline reporter Cole Cubelic casually mentioned that Von told him something about Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s mom.
The broadcast booth wanted to hear more, of course. Cubelic said he was told that Pavia promised Von that Von could take the quarterback’s mom on a date if Vanderbilt beat South Carolina. Von confirmed the details with an emphatic “yes.”
“She’s a nurse. My goal is I would like to marry a nurse one day, so that’s why I think that he was thinking about that,” Von said. “I don’t even know if I’m gonna do it. I don’t know. I like being his friend. I don’t want to end up being, like, his stepdad or something, you know?”
If Vanderbilt beats South Carolina, Diego Pavia promised Theo Von a date with his mom.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 14, 2025
Cole Cubelic reported the details while Theo Von confirmed. pic.twitter.com/JcWHX9CA14
Pavia’s mother, Antoinette Padilla, gained attention last season after she was shown on TV during a Vanderbilt game.
Pavia went 18/25 for 177 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception in the win over South Carolina. He has played well through the first three weeks of the season, which is a big reason Vanderbilt is off to a 3-0 start.
South Carolina star quarterback LaNorris Sellers was knocked out of the game in the second quarter on a helmet-to-helmet hit, so that had an impact on the outcome as well.
It sounds like Von and Pavia are going to have to have a serious conversation with one another.
