Diego Pavia’s Vanderbilt Commodores lost 27-34 to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Pavia has become a household name over the last two seasons and was expected to lead his team to a Bowl win.
The quarterback did everything right in order to achieve that goal. He went 25 of 38 for 347 yards and had two touchdowns. But the slow start by the Commodores, trailing 3-14 at halftime, took the game away from them.
What would sting even more for Pavia is his comment on playing with the best and how the Big Ten doesn’t fall in that category. Pavia had made tall claims about competing against the top teams, as that’s where his competition is.
“You want to play with the best,” Pavia said. “You don’t want to play with the Big Ten…The Big Ten, you’re not going to get beat on with the Purdue, Nebraskas.”
Diego Pavia refused to consider Big Ten offers after receiving another year of eligibility.
Pavia and Vanderbilt just lost to Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl 😬
(via @BussinWTB) pic.twitter.com/2qQNo5ALw5
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 31, 2025
Pavia had said this during his appearance on Bussin’ With The Boys. Since the loss against Iowa, the comment has resurfaced, and fans are using it to mock Pavis for talking down on those teams only to end up here.
“It’s even better he lost to a middle of the pack Big Ten team,” a fan reminded Pavia. But it gets worse. Some fans took it even further and reminded him that he plays for the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Now, Vanderbilt has emerged as one of the strongest teams in college football, and Pavia’s rise has made an immense contribution to that. However, they are still far from being one of the most revered programs in college football. While Pavia’s confidence in himself is admirable, this is a classic case of speaking too soon and too much in public.
Diego Pavia’s Heisman Dreams Were Crushed
Throughout the season, after almost every good performance, Pavia was seen striking the Heisman pose in celebration. It also became a part of the Vanderbilt fanbase celebration as they’d copy the quarterback during games.
In the lead-up to the announcement, it seemed like Pavia might make history and become the first player in the history of Vanderbilt to become a Heisman winner. His coach even joked about not having a cabinet to store that trophy.
“The idea that we could have a Heisman Trophy in our lobby,” Clark Lea said. “I made this joke last week that I don’t have a place to put it right now, we’d probably set it on the snack station.”
It all seemed so real because Pavia had the numbers, better than anyone, to become the Heisman trophy winner. Unfortunately, numbers alone don’t guarantee that honor. He ended up losing to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and finished second in the race.
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