Diego Pavia is already a big-time Alabama football villain. On Saturday in Week 6, the senior Vanderbilt quarterback is looking to cement his place amongst the all-time Crimson Tide heels among the likes of Johnny Manziel, who is on the Vanderbilt sideline at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Before the ball was even kicked off in the first ranked-on-ranked matchup between Alabama and Vanderbilt since 1937, Pavia put an even bigger target on his back by taking a knee in warm-ups. Before last season, the Commodores hadn’t beaten the Crimson Tide since 1984, yet the overconfident Pavia felt the need to practice his victory formation on Nick Saban Field.
Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia takes a knee in warmups before facing Alabama. pic.twitter.com/ilnhEN4s23
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) October 4, 2025
Diego Pavia couldn’t be more confident before taking on Alabama
Vanderbilt is off to a 5-0 start, after a breakout season last year. With Pavia in his final year of eligibility, the Commodores have climbed to No. 16 in the country, the highest they've been ranked since 2008 when they topped out at No. 13.
Alabama's start to eh year hasn't been quite as smooth. Head coach Kalen DeBoer came under fire by the fanbase after the Crimson Tide fell to unranked Florida State in Week 1. The loss was DeBoer's fourth to an unranked opponent in his first 14 games as the program's head coach, matching Nick Saban's total over his 14-year tenure in Tuscaloosa.
The first of those unranked loss came to Vandy last year, one week after knocking off Georgia to climb to the No. 1 spot in the country. Again, this year, the Tide enter their matchup with the Commodores following an upset win over the Bulldogs, but this time that win came in Athens, not Tuscaloosa, and their contest with Vandy comes in Tuscaloosa, not Nashville.
Most importantly, the game comes with Ty Simpson at quarterback for Alabama. Simpson has been playing incredibly well since taking over as the full-time starter in his redshirt junior season. He led the Tide out to a big first-half lead over Georgia in Week 5, with remarkable third-down precision.
Pavia and Simpson may go back-and-forth, but with all of Alabama's offensive weapons, and an accurate downfield thrower like Simpson, the Tide will have an edge in a shootout.