"That doesn't make him Jayden Daniels": CFB analyst talks about Diego Pavia's impact vs Kalen DeBoer's Alabama

College football analyst Cole Cubelic emphasized how Diego Pavia's maturity as a quarterback will be a pivotal factor in Vanderbilt's game against Kalen DeBoer-coached Alabama (3-1, 1-0 in SEC) on Saturday, Oct. 4.

Cubelic assessed Pavia's impact on the unbeaten Commodores (5-0, 1-0 in SEC) on the "Josh Pate's College Football Show" podcast on Thursday, pointing out that the six-foot signal-caller can facilitate plays better than more experienced QBs in the professional ranks.

"About operating your offense, Diego Pavia does that as well as any quarterback in college football," Cubelic said (Timestamp 12:50). "Now, that doesn't make him Jayden Daniels. That doesn't make him Caleb Williams. But when you put him in that with his experience, his knowledge, and how he operates, he puts it to a level that not a lot of the older quarterbacks can do with what they are given."

He expects Alabama's defensive line to have its hands full against Pavia, especially since starting outside linebacker Qua Russaw won't be available due to a broken foot.

"I think it makes it more complicated for Alabama because they become less experienced, less athletic on the edges where they're going to attack on a regular basis," Cubelic said (Timestamp 13:18).

Russaw underwent surgery to repair the damaged foot. He sustained the injury after the eighth snap of the Alabama-Georgia SEC game on Saturday that the Crimson Tide won 24-21.

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Eligiibility case against Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia dismissed by federal appeals court

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia can now breathe easy and focus on leading the Commodores into the college football playoffs after the federal appeals panel dismissed the NCAA eligibility complaint on Wednesday.

The three appeals court judges sided with the six-foot signal caller after dismissing the appeal due to a lack of jurisdiction. In the verdict, Judge Amul Thapar wrote that the waiver allowing athletes like Pavia to use an additional year of eligibility derailed the NCAA's appeal to reconsider the case.

The quarterback secured a preliminary injunction in Dec. 2024 after a judge in Tennessee ruled in favor of his complaint that the regulation that counts a player's time in junior college toward his overall years of eligibility is a violation of antitrust law.

Pavia initially played junior college at New Mexico Military Institute in 2020 and stayed there until 2021. He had a stint with New Mexico State in 2022-2023 before transferring to Vanderbilt in 2024.

This season, the quarterback has completed 74.6% of his passes for 1,211 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.