Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia jabbing Big Ten seems laughable

Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia is smack-talking the Big Ten conference. 

On a Tuesday episode of the "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast, Pavia discussed teams trying to entice him to transfer this offseason. When asked if any Big Ten schools contacted him, the SEC quarterback dissed the conference. 

"You want to play with the best; you don't want to play with the Big Ten," Pavia said. "You ignore those calls." 

The Big Ten has long been considered the second-best conference in college football behind the SEC. Over the past two seasons, though, it has been catching up.

The Michigan Wolverines won the national championship during the 2023 season, and their rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes, captured it last season.

Last season's 12-team College Football Playoff featured three other Big Ten teams besides the Buckeyes: the Oregon Ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions and Indiana Hoosiers. Meanwhile, three SEC teams (the Texas Longhorns, Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers) reached the CFP. 

Pavia, however, feels the Big Ten isn't as deep as the SEC. 

"You got to think about this, too. The SEC is like nothing [else]," Pavia said. "The Big Ten, you have Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Penn State...the SEC, you have all dogs. You only have four games a year [in the Big Ten]. The SEC, it's like week after week, you're going to get beat on. The Big Ten, you ain't going to get beat on with like Purdues, Nebraskas."

The Purdue Boilermakers went 1-11 last season, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers went 7-6. But the SEC also has underwhelming teams.

During the 2024 season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs finished 2-10. In Week 3, the Bulldogs lost at home to the Toledo Rockets, a MAC school, 41-17.

Vanderbilt — which finished 7-6 during the 2024 season — isn't a powerhouse. The Georgia State Panthers, a Sun Belt school, stunned the Commodores 36-32 in Week 3.  

Pavia was likely slighting the Big Ten to tease "Bussin' With The Boys" hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan. Lewan played offensive tackle for Michigan from 2009-13, while Compton played linebacker for Nebraska from 2008-12. 

Still, Pavia's comments about the SEC being far better than the Big Ten seem like balderdash.