Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia has been a thorn in the side of Auburn football for the past two seasons, and Hugh Freeze for even longer. This week, for the first time in three seasons, Pavia will face an Auburn squad led by someone other than Freeze.
Pavia is having a solid season as Vanderbilt’s quarterback, ranking No. 6 in the SEC in passing with 2,063 yards, and is No. 2 among SEC quarterbacks in rushing with 501 yards. In two previous games against Auburn, Pavia has passed for 344 yards, rushed for 61 yards, and was responsible for five touchdowns. Pavia joins a long list of quality quarterbacks the Tigers have faced this season, and interim head coach DJ Durkin knows that his staff and players must be alert when defending him.
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“We have faced some really talented quarterbacks this year, for sure, and Diego (Pavia) will be another one of those,” Durkin said Monday. “I think he is unique in what he does and what his skill set is. I don’t think you can really mimic and say he reminds you of another guy. We’ll obviously take bits and pieces from game plans and things that have worked, but there’s also some things we have to do differently and do in a better way, in a different way in order to try to contain him and slow them down.”
Auburn’s defense ranks No. 4 in the SEC in points allowed, and No. 3 in the conference in rushing yards allowed. However, the Tigers must limit what Pavia does through the air. Auburn allows 226.2 yards passing per game, while Vanderbilt posts 245 yards passing per contest. Opposing quarterbacks have thrown for 200 yards or more five times on Auburn’s defense this season, including Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who threw for 419 yards against the Tigers in the season-opener.
Auburn faces Vanderbilt on Saturday at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn interim coach DJ Durkin breaks down Diego Pavia’s unique game
