Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze has experienced plenty of adversity during his coaching career. Some argue that his biggest hindrance is Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.
Pavia, who spent the previous two seasons at New Mexico State, has handed two embarrassing losses to Freeze-coached teams over the last two seasons. In 2022, Pavia passed for 214 yards and three scores in the Aggies’ 49-14 win over Liberty. Pavia followed suit last season by throwing for three more scores in New Mexico State’s shocking 31-10 win over Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Pavia is now finding success at his new home, Vanderbilt, where he has passed for 1,534 yards and 13 touchdowns heading into Saturday’s game at Auburn. Needless to say, Freeze is hoping to slow him down this week to earn another win.
“I’m sick of seeing that quarterback. I’ve had enough of him,” Freeze said, jokingly, during his weekly press conference on Monday. “What a competitor he is and the job that (Vanderbilt head coach) Clark Lea and his staff have done there.”
Freeze followed that quote by saying that he is impressed by the way Lea has developed Vanderbilt’s program into a scary member of the SEC in his 4th season as the leading man. He is also aware of the Commodores’ ability to win games by eating clock, which is how Pavia and New Mexico State beat Auburn last season.
How is Freeze and the defensive coaching staff preparing to slow down Pavia? Freeze says that he is not shying away from telling his defense how talented Pavia is, and how important every play is when he is on the field for the Commodores.
“We are going to tell them the truth. We got some good cut ups from their team. They play extremely hard, extra effort. Not just him (Pavia),” Freeze said. “I got some good clips to show our defense that this is what you are up against. These guys (defensive ends) get knocked to the ground and then run and make a tackle on the other side of the field for a six-yard gain. Their effort is phenomenal. Obviously his (Pavia) toughness, leadership, and grittiness, if they don’t know it, they will after today when they see the tapes and hear our defensive staff talk about him requiring you to play assignment football on every play. I won’t talk much about last year (vs. New Mexico State).”
Auburn is favored by 6.5 points over Vanderbilt according to early betting odds from BetMGM, but Diego Pavia’s presence alone will allow Vanderbilt to stay close to Auburn. Will Freeze finally earn a win over the talented quarterback from Vanderbilt? He and the Tigers will aim for revenge on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CT when they meet with Vanderbilt at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
