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Diego Pavia calls for Donald Trump to take over College Football Playoff rankings after Vanderbilt snub

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra18 hours agoSamraSource

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia isn’t hiding his frustration with the College Football Playoff committee. He’s taking his plea straight to the top of the United States of America. 

After the 10–2 Commodores landed at No. 14 in the latest CFP rankings, Pavia jumped on X and fired off a message aimed squarely at President Donald Trump: “@realDonaldTrump MAKE THE EXECUTIVE ORDER PLEASE (exclamation point emoji, eye emoji),” the Vanderbilt quarterback posted.

The post came with a clear implication. Pavia believes if the committee won’t expand the field or elevate Vanderbilt, maybe a presidential intervention is in order.

Alas, Pavia’s sarcastic rallying cry echoed a headline-making comment from the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday. During an appearance on CNN, Rubio joked that Trump “would have to take over the College Football Playoff committee” if 10–2 Miami, his alma mater, is left out of the 12-team field. 

The Hurricanes, just like Vanderbilt, are stuck in a crowded logjam of two-loss contenders as Championship Weekend arrives. Both Miami and Notre Dame sit at 10–2, and their résumés have fueled national debate. 

Notre Dame overcame an 0–2 start to win 10 straight, including a victory over USC and a tight loss to Texas A&M. Miami owns the head-to-head win over the Irish, a 27–24 thriller, but their slip-ups to Louisville and SMU kept them out of the ACC title game.

Ironically, Vanderbilt’s gripe mirrors Miami’s. Both teams have a double-digit win total, Top-25 résumé and still very little traction with the committee. 

At 10–2, the Commodores have authored one of the strongest seasons in program history, yet they remain outside not only the Top 12, but the Top 13 as well. With the committee unmoved and the playoff picture tightening, Pavia decided to borrow Rubio’s gripe and turn it into a rallying cry.

For now, the only executive order in play is Championship Weekend itself. But Pavia’s post underscores the chaos and emotion swirling around the CFP rankings, and how, in a crowded field of contenders, even the strongest résumés may need help from far beyond the gridiron.

At least Pavia might be able to look toward New York and the Heisman Trophy Ceremony. He certainly has a chance at bringing home the hardware this season, due to his role in Vanderbilt’s rejuvenation, and his 36 total touchdowns (26 passing, nine rushing). Being the leader he is though, he’d trade it all for a national title.

— On3’s Daniel Hager contributed to this article.