DALLAS (FWAA) – On Saturday, in front of its first home sellout crowd in a nonconference game since 2017, the Vanderbilt Commodores rallied to win their third straight season-opener, topping Virginia Tech, 34-27. The overtime win earned Vanderbilt the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games the weekend of Aug. 31, as selected by the All-America committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is Vanderbilt's fourth FWAA National Team of the Week honor overall and its first since the week of Nov. 9, 2013. Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week, now honoring more than 100 different Division I programs.
Vanderbilt scored on each of its first three drives to take a 17-0 lead in the debut of quarterback Diego Pavia under center. Pavia, the 2023 Conference USA Player of the Year at New Mexico State, threw for 190 yards and added 104 yards on the ground.
On the day, Pavia finished 12-of-16 in the air with two scores and rushed for the winning touchdown on Vanderbilt’s overtime possession. He is the first Commodore to have over 100 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in a game since Mike Wright against Kentucky on Nov. 12, 2022.
Pavia earned the Southeastern Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week nod on Monday.
"I think the response of our team is really important, because we have caved under that pressure in our past," coach Clark Lea said. "And some of that past includes me, and some of that past was before. ... We lost it in the third quarter, we got sloppy and we were able to pull it back together. But the look in their eyes heading into that overtime sequence. ... The battle back was so incredibly meaningful. It's a great lesson for us to step into that belief."
With the Commodores trailing 27-20 late in the fourth quarter, sophomore Sedrick Alexander hauled in a Pavia pass and tip-toed into the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown reception that tied the game with 1:51 left in regulation.
Vanderbilt received the ball first in overtime and marched the 25 yards in four plays to take a 34-27 lead, capped off by Pavia’s four-yard touchdown run. The Commodores pushed Virginia Tech back to a fourth-and-11 and defended a pass into the end zone to seal the win. Langston Patterson had 10 tackles for the Commodores and Linus Zunk had two sacks.
Vanderbilt hosts Alcorn State at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday in a game televised on ESPNU.
Other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Aug. 31 included:
- Georgia (1-0): The No. 1 Bulldogs won their 11th straight season opener and their 40th straight regular-season game in a 34-3 dismantling of No. 14 Clemson in front of 78,827 fans at the Mercedes Benz Dome. Georgia’s defense held the Tigers to just 188 total yards while its offense piled up 447 total yards with quarterback Carson Beck connecting on 23 of 33 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns. Georgia is 47-2 in its last 49 games.
- Miami (1-0): The Hurricanes went into Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and stormed to a dominant 41-17 win in front of 90,544 fans to end the Gators' national-best streak of 34 straight home-opening wins. Miami had 529 total yards while limiting the Gators to 261. Cam Ward completed 26 of 35 passes to 10 different receivers for 385 yards with three touchdowns and Miami’s defense had three sacks and eight tackles-for-loss while holding Florida to 1-for-9 on third down.
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Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit event management organization dedicated to positively impacting the Orlando region while enhancing the quality of life in Central Florida through world-class events, including the Camping World Kickoff, the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Florida Blue Florida Classic and the Florida Cup & FC Series. For more information, visit FloridaCitrusSports.com.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.
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2024 FWAA All-America Committee
Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle (Chair)
Frank Bonner, Daily Memphian
Travis Brown, KBTX.com
Ken Capps, Freelance
Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News
Brett Ciancia, Pick Six Previews
Scott Dochterman, The Athletic
Bryan Fischer, FOX Sports
John Hoover, All Sooners
Mike Huguenin, Freelance
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Emily Leiker, Syracuse.com
Ben Portnoy, Sports Business Journal
Sean Reider, Albuquerque Journal
Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football
Phil Steele, Phil Steele Magazine
Dusty Thibodeaux, Rivals: Warhawk Report
John Wagner, Country News Review (Minn.)
Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group