After a 280-day break since its last game, Vanderbilt Football finally took the field at FirstBank Stadium on Saturday morning. The Commodores went toe-to-toe with Virginia Tech the whole game, and it took over 60 minutes to decide a winner. The game went to overtime, where Vanderbilt took control, ultimately winning 34-27 thanks to a game-winning touchdown from Diego Pavia.
Head coach Clark Lea spoke about the quarterback after the game.
“The biggest compliment I could pay him, and I speak on behalf of the team when I say this, when the ball is in his hands, you’re never out of the fight,” Lea said. “Today, we saw a warrior out on the field.”
Pavia, who had been the expected starter through much of the summer and fall, started the game under center. Pavia and Sedrick Alexander found space on back-to-back read options to move the chains. The drive continued after Pavia dropped back on third-and-13 and found Quincy Skinner Jr. for an impressive 31-yard gain. The drive ultimately stalled out, but the offense showed flashes and was rewarded with points as Brock Taylor netted a 43-yard field goal.
With the offense showing promise in its first drive under coordinator Tim Beck, it was time for the defense to show its stuff. The expectation throughout the summer was that the group had evolved exponentially since its poor showing in 2023. This seemed to be the case early on in the game, stopping Virginia Tech on multiple runs and forcing an early fourth down. Hokie quarterback Kyron Drones got it done with his legs on a quarterback sneak to extend the drive.
Virginia Tech’s success didn’t last long, though, as an unblocked Bryan Longwell made it into the backfield, tipping Drones’ pass straight to defensive lineman Glenn Seabrooks III for an interception. The crowd, full of Hokie faithful, fell silent as the Commodores took over on the 27-yard line.
Three nice run plays left the Commodores with a fourth-and-inches, and Pavia took another read option up the middle to move the chains. After a couple of run plays saw Vanderbilt get completely stuffed, the first quarter came to a close.
On a third-and-nine, Pavia stood tall in the pocket and delivered a picture-perfect pass to Skinner Jr., who stayed focused with a defender in his face, for a 14-yard score. The play sent Commodore nation into a frenzy: Vanderbilt, who entered the game as a 13-point underdog, led 10-0 at the start of the second quarter.
“We have everything we need to go on a run this year. With Diego [Pavia] at the helm, anything is possible,” Skinner Jr. said “He’s a leader, he’s a dawg and he brings that dawg mentality to everybody.”
Keeping their momentum, the Commodores forced a speedy three-and-out before a late hit from Boubacar Diakite kept the Hokies’ drive alive. Virginia Tech’s luck didn’t last for long, as Lea’s group clamped down and forced a punt on the next set of downs.
Keeping momentum, Pavia and Skinner Jr. connected once again for a massive chunk play. Another pass between the two — clearly developing a feel for each other’s game early — moved the chains on third down, and Vanderbilt passed midfield. Alexander sent the home crowd into another frenzy with a nifty hurdle over a Hokie defender to once again give Vanderbilt a first down. Knocking on the door, Alexander continued to make the drive his, breaking three tackles on a dominant 13-yard rush to bring the Commodores to first-and-goal. One play later, he broke two more tackles to find paydirt and put Vanderbilt up 17-0.
Star safety CJ Taylor tried to bring down a tip drill on the opening play of the Hokies’ next drive, but the senior couldn’t get his hands on it. Another ill-advised throw from Drones on the very next play went straight to the hands of De’Rickey Wright, but another drop left Vanderbilt’s sideline shocked.
The Commodores’ inability to capitalize on this proved detrimental, as a huge, 24-yard connection between Drones and wideout Jaylin Lane would provide the Hokies with a much-needed spark. Drones found some space with his legs on a third down a few plays later, bringing the game into the two-minute warning with Virginia Tech threatening.
On the other side of the warning, Vanderbilt held strong, taking advantage of a holding call from the Hokies to force a field goal. John Love knocked a 40-yard field goal to get the Hokies on the board, as the newly-renovated scoreboard flashed 17-3.
Vanderbilt would attempt to run the clock down for the half’s final minute, but Virginia Tech forced a speedy three-and-out to get the ball back with 31 seconds left. Vanderbilt had other plans, as Linus Zink and Miles Capers combined for a sack on Drones, which was later negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty. Two plays later, Zunk got through again on third down, sacking Drones for a seven-yard loss to bring the half to a close.
Lea promised changes this offseason, and through one half, he seemingly delivered. Vanderbilt looked sharper on offense, stronger and quicker on defense and flat-out better than it did a year ago. Despite all that Vanderbilt Football endured after a disappointing 2023 college football season — from countless transfers out of the program to seemingly never-ending construction around its entire athletic complex — it looked completely prepared for a tough opponent in the Hokies.
Under Beck and Kill, Vanderbilt was expected to run a slow, methodical, run-heavy offense, and the first half was simply a microcosm of that. The Black and Gold led possession time 18:24 to 11:36 and ran the ball on 25 of its 31 plays. Pavia, already familiar with the offense, praised it at the postgame press conference.
“We have a fun offense, and we have the weapons. [We need] to have a fun offense,” Pavia said. “We’re gonna be electric this year. We’re here to put on a show and win football games.”
After a brief intermission, Drones came out firing. Vanderbilt forced an early third down, but the junior stayed composed, finding Lane for a 26-yard strike. He hit Ali Jennings on the left sideline for a 29-yard gain on the very next play, and a 24-yard scamper from Tuten got the Hokies their first touchdown of the game. Minutes into the third, the scoreboard showed Vanderbilt 17, Virginia Tech 10.
A batted ball on Pavia’s first throw of the ensuing drive was dangerously close to getting picked off, but Sherrill was able to sneak a hand in and force an incompletion. On the next play, Pavia made the defense pay for it with a 27-yard rush down the sideline. The drive ultimately stalled after Caleb Woodson got into the backfield for a sack. In a bizarre sequence of plays, Vanderbilt lined up for a field goal, got a penalty and punted. Another penalty, this time on the Hokies, put the Commodores back into Taylor’s kicking range, and he made it count. The sophomore out of Knoxville, Tenn. ripped a 53-yard field goal down the middle of the uprights. Halfway through the third quarter, Vanderbilt went up 20-10.
The Commodores forced a massive three-and-out, highlighted by a strong tackle from Nick Rinaldi as Drones — all 234 lbs of him — was gunning right for the first-down marker. Vanderbilt couldn’t capitalize, going three-and-out after tight end Eli Stowers couldn’t bring in a dart from Pavia.
Vanderbilt suffered once again for its lack of discipline as Langston Patters was penalized for a roughing-the-passer call, tacking 15 yards onto a 17-yard Benji Gosnell completion. Drones dropped right back into the pocket again for another chunk play to Gosnell, this time going for 26 yards. The Commodores held strong on a massive third down as Purdue transfer Khordae Sydnor got through to Drones for his first career sack on West End. Despite some poor defensive showing throughout the drive, Lea’s unit stopped the bleeding to maintain a touchdown lead, 20-13.
Nate Johnson saw his first action as a Commodore at the end of the third quarter, but his time on the field was short-lived. After a handoff to Alexander, Johnson subbed back out for Pavia. Second and third downs proved just as futile for Vanderbilt as it went three-and-out for the second-straight drive and punted the ball back to Virginia Tech.
It didn’t take long for the Hokies to work their way into scoring territory, as Drones found Stephen Gosnell for a 44-yard gain — the longest play of the day. Miles Capers stood strong on first and goal, getting to Drones on a designed run and tackling him for a five-yard loss. Virginia Tech stayed composed on third-and-goal for Drones to find Tuten on a screen for a walk-in touchdown. The Hokies had climbed right back into the game, evening things up at 20-apiece.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, Vanderbilt’s offense retook the field. The odds weren’t in the Commodores’ favor. The visiting crowd was loud, the sun was beating down and the offense was ice cold. That didn’t stop Pavia — exuding his always-praised calm aura — from executing. He found his former teammate Stowers for their first-ever Vanderbilt connection on a read option that gained 41 yards. What seemed like it would be a first-down completion to Skinner Jr. ended up getting dropped, and a terrible false start penalty pushed Vanderbilt out of field goal range. Mirco’s punt was downed deep in Hokie territory, at the 3-yard line, making life difficult for Drones and Co.
The pressure was put on Vanderbilt’s defense, which had been carved up throughout the second half, to make a stop and keep it in the game. The Commodores forced a massive third-and-long, but it was all for naught, as a coverage bust on the game’s biggest play led to a wide-open 62-yard touchdown for Jennings. Virginia Tech captured its first lead of the game, going up 27-20.
With just over four minutes left, the air had been sucked out of FirstBank Stadium. Virginia Tech held all the momentum, but Vanderbilt still had a chance. On the drive’s second play, Pavia rolled out to the left to find Sherrill for a 16-yard gain. He stayed calm once again in the pocket, this time finding Loic Fouonji for a 19-yard gain. A Pavia scramble and an offside penalty put the Commodores’ offense on the cusp of the red zone. A triple option from Pavia to AJ Newberry caused a near catastrophe as the sophomore running back dropped the pitch. The play somehow ended up working out as the ball rolled forward and out of bounds, earning the Commodores a first down on the Hokies’ 8-yard line at the two-minute warning.
A brilliant play call from Beck saw Pavia rush up the middle before pitching it out wide to Alexander, who sprinted up the sideline for a score. With 1:51 remaining, Vanderbilt kicked the extra point to tie it up. The rest of the responsibility would fall on the defense, which had been gashed by the deep pass throughout the second half. The game-tying drive was all-Pavia, all-day.
“I feel like I’m the best player in the country, and I want to show it, week in and week out,” Pavia said.
Drones and his offense went back to work, but when it mattered most, Lea’s defensive unit held strong. Pressure from Zaylin Wood forced an incompletion, and Drones was hurt on the play. A 22-yard punt return featuring some nifty moves from Martel Hight brought Vanderbilt to its own 48.
Just under 90 seconds remained, and it seemed everyone in the stadium was holding their breath. Well, not everyone. Pavia, cool under pressure, ripped off two chunk runs to bring Vanderbilt to the brink of field goal range. After running the clock down, Vanderbilt sent Taylor out to try and win the game, but his kick went just wide right, sending the game to overtime.
Pavia didn’t take long to make his mark in overtime, as the swaggy fifth-year cruised into the end zone to put Vanderbilt up 34-27.
On Virginia Tech’s end, Drones, who seemingly got hurt at the end of regulation, stayed out of the game to start the extra period. Collin Schlee replaced him. After the Hokies ran for a first down, Vanderbilt stopped two runs in a row, and then Wood sacked Schlee, forcing a program-defining 4th-and-11. Both sides took their timeouts before the snap was called to re-adjust their strategies. Schlee dropped back to pass, but nothing went his way. Pressure broke through, and his pass sailed out of the back of the end zone, ending the game.
It was nip-and-tuck all the way, but Lea and the rest of the Commodores flashed their grit, coming from behind in the final minutes to win 34-27. A teary-eyed Lea, emotional after such an impactful win, elaborated on that grit later.
“This is all very personal to me. I’m proud of the way this program has modeled resiliency,” Lea said. “I’m proud of our fight.”
Vanderbilt Football will be back in action on Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m. CDT when it takes on Alcorn State at home.
