Diego Pavia has ‘no doubt’ Vanderbilt can beat Alabama again, win national championship

The Vanderbilt Commodores earned arguably their biggest win in modern program history, upsetting the Alabama Crimson Tide. Now, star quarterback Diego Pavia made it clear he thinks the Commodores can do it again. They might even be able to win a national championship.

Pavia appeared on Bussin’ With The Boys. There, he explained that he’s confident that Vanderbilt, with this group of players, is capable of accomplishing anything.

“For sure. I have no doubt we have the guys to go do it,” Diego Pavia said. “We have the firepower, we have the depth. We have the defense, the offense. Like, we would be selling ourselves short if I was to sit here and tell you we don’t have the faith go and win the national championship.”

Last season, Vanderbilt hosted Alabama in early October. It quickly turned into a thriller, with the Commodores pulling off a massive upset in the 40-35 game. It was the first time Vanderbilt had beaten Alabama since 1984. For his part, Diego Pavia threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 56 yards in the win.

This upcoming season, Vanderbilt has to make a return trip to Tuscaloosa. That’s schedule for October 4th, just shy of one year since the massive upset. Pavia figures to be a key player in that game again. He also sees no reason why they can’t win that and go on to win a national championship.

“For sure,” Pavia said. “You win 10 games in the SEC, you’re in the tournament. Then, it’s anyone’s game… I like me over everyone.”

A national championship for Vanderbilt would be something special. The Commodores haven’t had so much as a double-digit win season in the program’s entire history, which dates back to 1890. They did have a pair of nine-win seasons under James Franklin in 2012 and 2013. Prior to that, they had nine win seasons in 1915 and 1904.

One thing Vanderbilt has never done in program history is win a national championship. The Commodores haven’t even won a conference championship since 1923, when they went 3-0-1 in the Southern Conference. So, it’s a bold realm to count the Commodores competing in this upcoming season.

Regardless of a lack of historic success, Diego Pavia remains confident in his team. He’ll put that confidence to the test on August 30th against Charleston Southern. Then, on September 13th, they’ll begin SEC play with a difficult road test against South Carolina.