Diego Pavia threw two touchdown passes, including a 4-yarder to Eli Stowers with 4:18 left, helping Vanderbilt become bowl eligible for the first time since 2018 with a 17-7 victory over Auburn on Saturday.
The Commodores (6-3, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) secured another win in their surprising season with a long 14-play, 78-yard drive that took 8 minutes and 53 seconds. This drive continued when Keldric Faulk was penalized for trying to block a field goal, giving Vanderbilt a first down at the 4.
“This is a great moment for our program and one that we need to celebrate the right way,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said after a long and loud celebration in the locker room.
“If you look at where we were about 11 months ago, we’ve had an incredible journey. I feel like in December we probably hit rock-bottom after last season.” The Tigers (3-6, 1-5) are now just one loss away from their fourth straight losing season.
Pavia was held back for much of the game but still helped secure a second win against Auburn. He completed 9 of 22 passes for 143 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown to AJ Newberry. Pavia had previously led New Mexico State to a big upset against the Tigers last season before transferring to the SEC and contributing to this win.
Last season, Vanderbilt lost all eight of their SEC games and ended on a 10-game losing streak. This year, Pavia, Stowers, and other new players helped create a joyous celebration after the game.
“We weren’t going to be denied this opportunity today, and I feel that way about this team,” Lea said, with his son Jack sitting next to him. “They earned the right to celebrate. They earned the right to be excited, and I enjoyed being in the middle of it.”
Pavia got to face one of the teams that didn’t want to recruit him.
“A lot of people didn’t take a chance on me,” he said. “They’re just another team that didn’t, so I just want to make them pay for what they did.”
Auburn’s last chance to stay in the game ended when Towns McGough missed a 52-yard field goal for the second time. By the time the Tigers fumbled away their final possession in the last two minutes, most fans had already left the stadium.
The Tigers tied the game at 7-7 going into halftime. They converted two fourth-down plays in their own territory before Payton Thorne threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Rivaldo Fairweather.
The Commodores took the lead again with a 31-yard field goal from Taylor late in the third quarter. This chance came after replay officials overturned a fumble called on Moni Jones, and it was set up by Martel Hight’s 39-yard punt return to the 21.
Vanderbilt held Jarquez Hunter to 50 yards on 12 carries, a big drop from his 278 yards the week before against Kentucky.
Thorne completed 20 of 29 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown.
“This has been too often a story this year for us, for our players and our fans, and I’m just very disappointed,” Tigers coach Hugh Freeze said. “I thought our defense played their guts out and played well enough to win.”
