The legend of Diego Pavia grows by the nanosecond. The Live Dog lives to beat up anyone who disrespects him and his team. Throughout his one-of-one college football career, he has made it his duty to beat Hugh Freeze’s team, regardless of the team he plays for or the team Freeze manages. From Liberty and New Mexico State to Auburn and Vanderbilt, the outcome remains the same.

It wasn’t an easy game for Vanderbilt, but the Commodores won. 17-7 on the Tigers. Surprisingly, this was Vanderbilt’s first win at Auburn in program history, even though they have played them quite often in their SEC football history. Most of Vanderbilt’s “road” victories came in Birmingham or Montgomery. Either way, Pavia will leave college football as a legend and now 3-0 against Freeze’s teams.

Certainly, Pavie did not have his best match. He completed just 9 of 22 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns, running the ball 12 times for 26 yards. It was a pretty clean game with Auburn only fumbling the ball once, in which Vanderbilt recovered. It was a historic victory for the Vanderbilt program, as well as a devastating loss for Auburn. They are only 3-6 years old, but still have to play Alabama this season…

Only time will tell if this latest loss to Auburn will be enough to earn Freeze receiving the pink slip.

Vanderbilt is not a perfect football team, far from it. What the Commodores lack in talent, they make up for in heart and self-belief. It’s partly the program Clark Lea is building at his alma mater, partly because of the man who plays quarterback for them. No matter who Vanderbilt plays, as long as Pavie is under center, the Commodores should have a chance against everyone.

With three losses this year, 6-3 Vanderbilt likely won’t make it to the College Football Playoffs. Losing to Missouri and Texas is one thing, but losing to Georgia State is another. Vanderbilt has had many close games this season. Some went their own way, while others went the other way. Either way, they’ve gone from a doormat to an exciting team to follow.

I have no idea what awaits Pavie and his footballing future beyond this season. What I do know is that he has made the greatest sport in the world even better at every level over the past few years. It’s not like Freeze is in over his head at Auburn’s helm; the program may simply be beyond repair at the moment. Then again, the same things were said about Vanderbilt. Now look at them. Vanderbilt is a fucking turnt!

In a season without a ton of huge upsets, Vanderbilt was at the epicenter to prove us all wrong.