Diego Pavia Dazzles Again; PFF Takeaways

NASHVILLE—If there was any way in which Diego Pavia’s Saturday performance against LSU could’ve been misinterpreted, it’s gone. 

The Vanderbilt quarterback received a 90.3 overall grade, 91.9 grade in the passing game and a 66.2 run grade in the Commodores 31-24 win over No. 10 LSU. Pavia threw for just 160 yards on Saturday, but commanded Vanderbilt’s offense efficiently throughout the entirety of the day and ran for 85 yards. 

Perhaps the initial stats didn’t indicate it, but Pavia’s performance was one that appeared to prove Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea right in his assessment. 

“I think he's the best player in college football,” Lea said. “You can't watch him play and not realize what a game changer he is. And there are a lot of good players. There's only a handful to me that can take a game over, and he's one of those. And so he deserves all the attention, all the credit.”

Cole Spence’s big day

Spence was Vanderbilt’s highest-graded offensive player with a 90.6 overall grade, 92.8 pass-catching grade, 70.6 passing grade and a 59.4 run blocking grade. 

The Vanderbilt tight end identifies himself as a blocking tight end and believes his five receptions for 56 yards came largely as a result of his ability to block downfield. 

“Whatever the role is that winning requires of him, he'll do it with effort, energy and the right attitude. And when you play the game the right way, when you prepare the right way, the game rewards you,” Lea said. “We've seen his production start to tick up as the seasons wore on, and we're going to need him. Because obviously Eli Stowers is well known and Cole's moment is next, and you're starting to see that surface.”

Vanderbilt offensive linemen to note

Vanderbilt center Jordan White stood out as usual and was Vanderbilt’s highest-graded offensive lineman on the day with a 75.3 overall grade, 60.0 grade in the run game and a 74.0 grade in pass blocking. 

Isaia Glass, Cade McConnell, Bryce Henderson and Orion Irving all graded out above a 60. 

Mark Davis’ productive outing

Davis was Vanderbilt’s highest-graded defensive player with an 84.0 overall grade, 84.3 coverage grade and a 77.0 tackling grade. 

The FCS transfer led Vanderbilt’s cornerback room with 28 snaps. Kolbey Taylor played 27, Jordan Matthews played 26, Martel Hight played 25 and Jaylin Lackey played 10. Matthews was Vanderbilt’s second-highest graded corner. 

Next-highest

Josh Singh and Miles Capers were Vanderbilt’s only two other defensive players that graded above a 70.