Vanderbilt absorbed the first blow against 10th-ranked LSU in Saturday afternoon’s SEC showdown in Nashville, allowing a Tigers field goal to cap a 12-play drive.
Then, it was Vanderbilt‘s turn on its first offensive possession, and the 17th-ranked Commodores got busy in a hurry. Vandy answered LSU’s opening march with a scoring march of its own, and it didn’t settle for a field goal. Star quarterback Diego Pavia led a 9-play, 57-yard drive that he ended himself with a 1-yard touchdown sneak on 1st-and-goal to give Vanderbilt a 7-3 lead with 3:38 left in the first quarter.
In the battle of ranked 5-1 teams, Vandy had the early upper hand, with a long way to go in the Week 8 showdown on ABC.
Here is the latest edition of Pavia’s 2025 season highlight reel:
Pavia showed his dual-threat ability on the drive, completing all 3 of his pass attempts for 38 yards and running it twice for 21 yards, including the TD plunge.
One possession, 1 long drive and only 1 quarter down in Nashville as Vandy tried to bounce back from that Week 6 road loss against Alabama. The Commodores were coming off a bye, and they were raring to go on Saturday, specifically Pavia.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
