Diego Pavia first put his name on the map in 2023, when he led New Mexico State football into Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium and led the Aggies to a 31-10 win.
Now, Pavia hopes to make the same kind of magic with Vanderbilt (5-3, 2-2 SEC), which is aiming for bowl eligibility with the matchup at Auburn (3-5, 1-4) on Saturday (11:45 a.m. CT, SEC Network).
Christian James (back) and BJ Diakite (turf toe) will be out for the Commodores with injuries, but other players are expected to be available. That includes Pavia, who has been full-go in practice despite dealing with knee and shoulder injuries in recent weeks.
Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup:
Vanderbilt has never won at Jordan-Hare Stadium
Vanderbilt has been competitive against Auburn with a 21-22-1 all-time record. But most of those wins came in the first half of the 20th century. The Commodores lost 13 in a row in the series between 1978 and 2007.
Vanderbilt has also never won at Jordan-Hare. The Commodores’ only two wins in the series since 1955 came in 2008 and 2012 at FirstBank Stadium. Although Jordan-Hare opened in 1939, Vanderbilt did not play there until 1951, with previous road games in the series being played in Birmingham or Montgomery, Alabama.
Watch out for Jarquez Hunter
Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter is one of the best in the SEC. He’s first in the conference with 863 total yards and his 7.2 yards per carry is best in the league and ninth nationwide among players with at least 50 rushing attempts.
Vanderbilt has allowed 3.83 yards per carry to its opponents, which is 11th in the SEC.
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Auburn has struggled with turnovers
Auburn has an offense that’s been explosive overall, but with one huge Achilles heel: turnovers. The Tigers are 126th of 134 teams nationwide in turnover margin per game. They have seven fumbles lost and 10 interceptions.
Vanderbilt is tied for 29th in the same stat, having lost just five turnovers but gained 10.
Score prediction
Vanderbilt 28, Auburn 21: Pavia has notably won in Jordan-Hare before. Tigers coach Hugh Freeze will certainly key in on the Commodores, but Auburn seems too mistake-prone for a Commodores team that’s been playing clean football of late.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.
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