It’s been an eventful few days on West End. The Commodores — +13.5 before their season opener — have become America’s sweetheart since shocking Virginia Tech in a thrilling overtime victory. Following Saturday afternoon, the hype hasn’t stopped rolling in. Vanderbilt didn’t just win the game and hearts the of Black and Gold loyal: it won state and national recognition for the 2024-25 opener.
Let’s start with the team. Head coach Clark Lea’s group was announced as the Cheez-It National Team of the Week by the Football Writer’s Association of America. This was the Commodores’ first time winning the award since November of 2013 when it defeated the Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
While not a tangible accolade, the biggest media-related victory this week came Tuesday morning when the AP Top 25 college football poll was released. For the first time since 2017, the Black and Gold received votes in the poll. The eight points it received ranked tenth among all SEC teams and second-most among unranked teams.
Diego Pavia swept the country away on individual awards. After producing 294 total yards and 3 total touchdowns, the quarterback was tabbed as the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. This marks the first time in nearly two years that a Commodore has won the award — last earned when quarterback Mike Wright took home the hardware in November of 2022.
The awards didn’t stop there for the graduate signal-caller, who was named a Manning Award Star of the Week and selected to the Davey O’Brien Great 8. Pavia was also picked as the Tennessee Sports Writers’ Offensive Player of the Week.
On the opposite side of the ball, Bryan Longwell got recognition too. After logging nine tackles and a pass breakup that produced the game’s only turnover, the sophomore linebacker was honored as the TSWA’s Defensive Player of the Week.
