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    • Diego Pavia poses threat to Commodores
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    Diego Pavia poses threat to Commodores

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    The Vanderbilt football team made a statement in its season opener at FirstBank Stadium, defeating Virginia Tech 34-27 in overtime.

    The Commodores (1-0) opened with a 17-point lead in the second quarter, but squandered the lead and trailed by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter before rallied to tie the game. Vanderbilt won by scoring a touchdown on its first possession of overtime and then stopping a fourth-down pass by the Hokies (0-1).

    It’s Vanderbilt’s first non-league win over a high-powered league opponent during Clark Lea’s tenure. It’s also its first win over a high-powered league opponent since 2022.

    Here are three overreactions to the victory:

    Vanderbilt’s pass defense is still a weakness

    The Commodores’ run defense was a pleasant surprise. Vanderbilt held Virginia Tech to under 100 rushing yards thanks to a strong performance from the defensive line.

    But pass defense, an Achilles heel of Lea’s offense while he’s been here, was still a problem. In the second half, when the Hokies figured out they could make deep shots, they started doing it.

    Under the leadership of Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt kept his composure

    Vanderbilt had lost 61 consecutive games in which it trailed by a touchdown or more in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Commodores never faltered after taking a hit. Not when Virginia Tech took the lead in the fourth quarter. Not when Brock Taylor missed a potential game-winning kick.

    DIEGO PAVIA How Vanderbilt transfer Diego Pavia’s relentless competitiveness landed him in Nashville

    Diego Pavia has been here before. He’s played a lot of college football and won a lot of games. After the Hokies’ go-ahead score, Pavia led the team on a touchdown drive. He set up the ultimately missed field goal. And he led a touchdown drive to start overtime — and scored the go-ahead run himself.

    With Pavia in the mix, it will be difficult to beat Vanderbilt, as the team is never out of the game.

    The shovel situation has improved, but still has warts

    Last year, Vanderbilt didn’t trust its kicking situation and rarely attempted field goals. This year, the Commodores have Brock Taylor, who scored from 53. But Taylor also missed from 43, something that could have won the game earlier. Taylor made his extra point in overtime, just a few minutes after the missed kick.

    A redshirt freshman, perhaps Taylor’s consistency will improve with time. Saturday showed the highs and lows.

    Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.

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