Vanderbilt’s offense led by Diego Pavia is the Longhorn defense’s next major challenge

It’s rare you find someone as dynamic, or erratic, as Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.

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Pavia’s mix of speed and grit has turned him into one of the darlings of college football, with an upset victory over Alabama in early October catapulting him into stardom. The dual threat has numerous ways of impacting the game, even sometimes throwing a block or two on handoffs, and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian knows he has his hands full ahead of this weekend’s matchup with the No. 25 Commodores in Nashville.

“The quarterback is a heck of a player,” Sarkisian said Monday. “He definitely is the straw that stirs the drink for them in the run game and in the pass game. He’s definitely infused a competitive, winning mentality into that team.”

Pavia’s stats so far have been impressive, to say the least. Eleven touchdowns to one interception and nine yards per pass attempt while leading SEC quarterbacks in rush attempts, rushing yards and 10+ yard rushes. Pavia leads an offense that feeds on the unknown. Misdirection and lulling the defense out with a frequent run game allows Pavia to make his own magic on later downs, something that killed Alabama in the then-No. 1 team’s upset loss at the hands of the Commodores.

“The second they get a safety to be like, ‘Okay, I’m not okay with the four-yard run. I’m gonna go sneak in here and not do my job.’ Pop, touchdown,” safety Michael Taaffe said. “You’ve got to own your role. Don’t be Superman, just do your job.”

Pavia began his college career at the New Mexico Military Institute before transferring to New Mexico State, where he earned 2023 Conference USA offensive player of the year honors. As a transfer, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea took a big swing with the culture-oriented graduate student, and it has more than paid off. Between Lea, Pavia and offensive coordinator Tim Beck, the Commodores have turned an SEC laughing stock into one of the most efficient offenses in the SEC.

Vanderbilt leads the SEC in time of possession and third down conversion rate, and two total turnovers on the year have allowed the ‘Dores to keep consistent control of the football. Pavia has one interception on the year, a back-footed toss that a Kentucky defender made a great play on two weeks ago.

He only has one throw that PFF noted as a turnover worthy play on the season and it came in Vanderbilt’s loss to Georgia State. The quarterback takes care of the football, something that could easily challenge this Texas defense coming off of a tough loss to Georgia.

“You have to have good eyes and good footwork and understand the scheme that they’re trying to do,” linebacker David Gbenda said. “They do a lot of motions, shifts, misdirections, and they have a different style of offense with the different pitches and then and also the quarterback being the leading rusher.”

Pavia utilizes his legs to their fullest potential, but that doesn’t mean he can’t stay in the pocket and deliver strikes to his receivers. The team captain is PFF’s second-highest-graded quarterback in the SEC and he consistently attacks the middle of the field. Pavia throws 53% of his passes between the numbers, and he tends to shy away from the deep ball, throwing it at the third lowest percentage in the SEC.

Where Pavia differs from Texas’ quarterbacks is his lack of work in the “cheat” offense plays. The transfer is much more efficient on plays that don’t involve play actions or screens, and the team only runs those plays 35% of the time, 18% less than Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. Pavia has striking similarities to former Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who torched the Texas defense with 113 yards on the ground in the 2023 Red River Rivalry game.

“He’s that definition of grit,” Sarkisian said about Pavia. “He finds a way to make plays, whether it’s with his legs, with his arm, with his legs and his arm. You know, he runs tough, he runs hard. He makes the throws when he needs to make them.”

Thankfully for the Longhorns, Pavia hasn’t been perfect since that magical win against Alabama. He completed just 54% of his passes against a far inferior Ball State team last week, and Kentucky held him to 143 passing yards and forced an interception in a game the Commodores barely won. 

Texas has some factors to its advantage, despite Saturday’s contest being an away game against a ranked opponent. Pavia is used to seeing under 10 pressures per game from inferior pass-rush groups like those brought to Nashville by the Wildcats and Cardinals, while Texas averages 15 pressures per game so far this season. Vanderbilt’s offensive line and play style is most similar in strength to Oklahoma’s, a team that gave up 15 pressures to Texas two weeks ago. 

Vanderbilt also doesn’t bring a crowd similar to other potential rowdy opponents this season. Texas has already played an away game in the biggest stadium in the country, and has been preparing to head to hostile environments like Arkansas and Texas A&M all season. With that being less of a factor in Nashville, and the Longhorn defense featuring several elite athletes, keeping up with the tempo of Pavia in Beck’s offense shouldn’t be impossible.

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Either way, Pavia is probably the most dynamic quarterback Texas has faced, or will face, all season. The Longhorn pass defense guided Carson Beck to a terrible day despite what Saturday’s final score said, and containing Pavia will be the key to a bounce back win for the Longhorns in Nashville. 

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