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Hugh Freeze jokingly protests having to face Diego Pavia: ‘I’m sick of seeing that quarterback’
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Hugh Freeze finally got a win last week after 4 straight losses, so what does Auburn’s head coach get as a reward in Week 10?
How about a visit to The Plains by old friend Diego Pavia, the pesky Vanderbilt quarterback who has helped the Commodores to a 5-3 record that includes a shocking upset of then-top-ranked Alabama earlier this month? Pavia has 1,534 yards passing with 13 touchdown passes and just 3 interceptions in 2024. He also has 537 yards rushing and 4 TDs on the ground, so he can hurt defenses with his legs, too.
Don’t remind Freeze, who still has visions of Pavia walking into Jordan-Hare Stadium last November while he played at New Mexico State, leaving with a 31-10 victory. Pavia also got the best of Freeze in 2022, leading New Mexico State to a 49-14 blowout win during Freeze’s last season at Liberty. Both of Freeze’s previous matchups against Pavia came in the month of November.
“I’m sick of seeing that quarterback,” a laughing Freeze said of Pavia on Monday.
"I'm sick of seeing that quarterback," a laughing Hugh Freeze said of Diego Pavia, a quarterback who beat him twice at New Mexico State.
— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) October 28, 2024
Freeze hopes the 3rd November in a row of facing Pavia will be the charm, as the 3-5 Tigers look to claw their way back toward bowl eligibility.
ESPN’s FPI matchup predictor thinks Freeze has a good shot to finally beat Pavia, giving Auburn a 63.3% chance to beat Vanderbilt in the 12:45 p.m. ET kickoff on SEC Network.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
