How a bulletin board quote led to the biggest upset of Week 1 in college football
Sometimes, we see terrific examples of great coaching. Entering Week 1, the Vanderbilt Commodores were 14-point underdogs at home against Virginia Tech. Yet, the Commodores took a two-score lead and closed the game with a winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. How did Vandy win 34-27 against a team considered a top sleeper to make the College […]
Sometimes, we see terrific examples of great coaching. Entering Week 1, the Vanderbilt Commodores were 14-point underdogs at home against Virginia Tech. Yet, the Commodores took a two-score lead and closed the game with a winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
How did Vandy win 34-27 against a team considered a top sleeper to make the College Football Playoff? Twisting a quote from Virginia Tech about quarterback Diego Pavia inspired the Commodores to exceed its talent level.
After the win, Pavia revealed he was fired up, "Some people from over there called me a poor man’s Trace McSorley. When you stop me, then you can talk.”
What's Pavia talking about? Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry compared Pavia to former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley last week but did not mean it was a slight. Pry called Pavia "very determined", and the team "has nothing but respect for Pavia."
The third-year quarterback previously came from New Mexico State, where he was excellent for an undermanned roster. Over two years, he totaled 39 touchdowns to only 15 interceptions while playing with an improviser's mentality.
This is his first year with Vanderbilt. Clearly, the Vandy coaching staff spun the above quote about Pavia being similar to McSorely, because the latter was an accomplished player.
McSorley is known for his tenure at Penn State University, where he played from 2014 to 2018. While at Penn State, McSorley became a standout player, leading the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten Championship in 2016 and earning multiple accolades for his performance. After college, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2019 and later played for the Arizona Cardinals.
Pavia is good, and he should earn a shot in the NFL as a backup. But it wasn't an offensive remark to compare the 6-foot, 202-pounder to Pavia, who is almost the same size and plays the same way. Pavia has a better arm, but they have a ton in common.
At the end of the day, this is what we love about college football. Vanderbilt withstood Virginia Tech's furious 24-10 second-half run to win in overtime. Pavia, who had 190 passing yards, 104 rushing yards, and three total scores, was the heart of the offense.
And now, Vandy can be America's team for another week while the world falls in love with Pavia's fire.
