Love him or loathe him, Diego Pavia has our attention

Oct. 6—When I began crafting this week’s Peerman Power Rankings — the top five things in New Mexico sports — I knew Diego Pavia would be No. 1. Because there’s so much to write about Pavia — a New Mexican who is on top of the sports world — it became clear the Vanderbilt quarterback would not only be No. 1, but he would be the only one in the power rankings.

PPR, in its original form, will return next week.

The story every sports personality in America is talking about is Vanderbilt’s historic 40-35 upset win over No. 1 Alabama on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. The Commodores — a perennial SEC bottom-feeder in college football — last beat Alabama in 1984, when “Beverly Hills Cop” was the highest grossing film and Prince’s “When Doves Cry” topped Billboard’s Hot 100. The last time Vanderbilt beat a No. 1-ranked team? Never.

How unlikely was the result? Had you bet $100 on the Commodores to win, you’d have $1,180 to reinvest on Vandy winning the national championship (A bit of betting advice: Don’t do that). Still, the Commodores’ fans cashed in their good fortune by not just flooding the field at FirstBank Stadium, but also tearing down a goal post and carrying it three miles to dump in the Cumberland River. Act like you’ve been there before? The fans hadn’t! We’ll allow this act of civil disobedience, but just once.

In the immediate aftermath of Vanderbilt’s improbable rolling of the Tide, national TV crews rushed to interview the team’s quarterback, Pavia, a graduate transfer from New Mexico State who plays with a chip on his shoulder the size of a Santa Fe Grill Breakfast Dream burrito (for those unfamiliar, the hearty Breakfast Dream, if placed on a shoulder, would be heavy enough to cause an undeniable swagger in your step).

Diego, you just beat the number one team in the country. What’s going through…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/love-him-loathe-him-diego-030100048.html

Author : Albuquerque Journal, N.M.

Publish date : 2024-10-07 03:01:00

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