Alabama football and its fans got their long-awaited revenge over Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt on Saturday, Oct. 4, downing the Commodores 30-14 in Tuscaloosa.
Even in the loss, though, Pavia found ways to get under the skin of the Crimson Tide and their fans. That began before the game, with the Commodores signal-caller practicing a victory kneel — even a celebratory football toss.
That naturally bled into postgame, with video capturing Pavia getting into it with an irate Alabama fan as the former exited the field with his teammates. Video of the incident (warning: explicit language used) showed the fan shout at Pavia from behind the barrier, prompting the latter to say, ‘I do whatever the (expletive) I want. I do whatever the (expletive) I want.’
Several Vanderbilt support staff began chirping at the Alabama fan as well, with someone yelling, ‘You’re talking to a (expletive) kid!’
But Pavia, 24, wasn’t the only person to rile Alabama fans.
Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel, who famously led Texas A&M to an upset of the Crimson Tide as a freshman in 2012, was also on the Vanderbilt sideline sporting a Pavia jersey in support of the Commodores quarterback.
In the final minutes of Alabama’s win over Vanderbilt, he could be seen giving the middle finger on both hands to Alabama fans in the crowd.
It’s clear Pavia’s trash-talking habits — ‘If we play our game, it won’t be close,’ he told On3 in the leadup to the game — made for a fraught situation with Alabama fans on Oct. 4. That’s especially true after what already stood to be elevated emotions from the last year’s 40-35 upset of the Crimson Tide in Nashville.
Pavia finished Saturday completing 21-of-35 passes for 198 yards and one touchdown to one interception. He also rushed 12 times for 58 yards, including a long of 36.
