Diego Pavia admits to missing warmups before Vandy's loss to Alabama: 'It felt like a blur'

Diego Pavia reached the highest of heights during the final two seasons of his college career, propelling Vanderbilt to relevance after a dormant decade for the program.

In 2025, Pavia was rewarded for his performances, capturing a treasure trove of prizes, including the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for the nation's best upperclassman quarterback, SEC Offensive Player of the Year and SN College Football Player of the Year. He and his team could've achieved even more had they beaten Alabama when they had the chance.

The Commodores fell to the Crimson Tide, 30-14, on Oct. 4. The loss — coupled with another defeat at the hands of Texas — effectively dashed Vanderbilt's College Football Playoff hopes. Pavia took the blame for the result seven months later, explaining that things could have been different had he just woken up on time.

Here's what you need to know.

MORE: Why 16 teams is the best choice for the CFP 

Why did Diego Pavia miss warmups before Alabama game?

Pavia revisited a less-than-ideal showing in Vanderbilt's 30-14 loss to Alabama on Oct. 4. Pavia struggled mightily against the Tide's vaunted defense, failing to penetrate their front line save for a few moments. While speaking on "The Pivot" podcast with Ryan Clark, the newly-minted hurler offered a potential explanation for his toils: he missed warmups.

More specifically, Pavia overslept, messing up his pre-game commute.

“It felt like a blur, almost,” Pavia said. "I wake up, and I’m in the stadium already. I kinda delayed the process, I wasn’t able to throw the ball pregame, and it’s just like, I didn’t feel like me that day.”

The Commodores were flying at the time, having vanquished each of their first five foes to start the year -- including then-No. 11 South Carolina.

They hoped to author up a similar performance against the Crimson Tide to the one they put forth one year earlier. Pavia was the star of the show that day, accounting for nearly 300 yards of total offense and two touchdowns as Vanderbilt bested Alabama for its first victory over top-ranked opposition.

Things didn't go nearly as smooth for the Commodores in the reverse fixture. Pavia struggled, completing just 60 percent of his passes for 198 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

“My feet was off the whole game, my mind was slow,” he said

Vanderbilt huffed and puffed, but was no match for the Tide. The defeat sunk the Commodores' playoff hopes for good.

MORE: Ohio State, Texas lead Way Too Early top 25 lists

Impact of Vandy's loss to Alabama

Vanderbilt's loss put it behind the eight-ball in terms of qualifying for a CFP spot. Clark Lea's side remained in the hunt in the weeks that followed, vanquishing No. 10 LSU and No. 15 Missouri to climb inside the top-10.

But the Commodores followed those showings with a lackluster display in a Nov. 1 loss to Texas. Vanderbilt actually finished the regular-season with a better record than Alabama. The nature of the Commodores' defeat to the Tide left them without a big margin of error, however. The Longhorns result was one step too far for the committee, who ruled in Alabama's favor despite Kalen DeBoer's side suffering a comfortable defeat at the hands of Georgia in the SEC championship.

Diego Pavia stats vs Alabama