Nick Saban calls out Diego Pavia for practicing victory formation ahead of Alabama game

Diego Pavia tried to call his shot before Vanderbilt took on Alabama earlier this season. The Commodores’ star quarterback was seen practicing taking a victory knee pregame in Tuscaloosa.

That didn’t sit well with Nick Saban, or the Crimson Tide — who ended up victorious when the final whistle blew against Vanderbilt. With College GameDay in Nashville this weekend ahead of the Commodores’ clash with Missouri, Saban explained why Pavia’s pregame antics wouldn’t have flown on a team he coached.

“I love Diego, but that would have been a catastrophic player–coach relationship moment before the game,” Saban stated, via The Pat McAfee Show. I never wanted my players to ever do anything — I didn’t even let them talk to the other team. I never wanted them to do anything that was going to affect the other team’s motivation to beat us.

“So, don’t ever say anything. Don’t ever give anybody a reason. They’ve already got enough reason to want to beat us. Don’t give them any more.”

Alas, Pavia might be the first one to tell you he regrets that decision. His game didn’t match up with his pregame confidence against Alabama, as he passed for just 198 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Commodores fell by 17 points.

Regardless, McAfee loves the way Pavia plays with confidence. He credited Saban for being the reason teams still get up to play Alabama, while praising the Vanderbilt quarterback’s impact on college football as a whole.

“Everybody wants Bama, brother. And the reason is because of the way you were able to psychologically put your boys in positions to succeed for so damn long, and everybody does it differently,” McAfee responded. “Diego has certainly captured the entire world by storm. Talking to him last week, he seems like he’s continuing to mature every single week and get used to it. Absolute dog, though. I’m very appreciative of him being in college football.”

Alas, Vanderbilt responded to their loss against Alabama with a huge home win against LSU. That would’ve been unheard of just a couple of years ago. Now, they’ll look to stay in the College Football Playoff race against Missouri.

Get ready for some more spicy Pavia and Vanderbilt takes from Saban, McAfee and analysts like Kirk Herbstreit. With College GameDay in town, there’s bound to be aplenty. They can’t take the Tigers lightly, though, as Missouri is proving to be a contender in the SEC, as well.