Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia keeps pace in Heisman race
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Xavier Andrade,
- November 10, 2025
Diego Pavia is Player of the Week after beating Auburn for third time
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia made a national name for himself two years ago by leading New Mexico State to an upset over Auburn on the road. In that game he even body slammed a defender after giving up an interception.
The star Vanderbilt quarterback didn’t need to slam anybody on Saturday while beating the Tigers for the third consecutive season. Two years after passing for a respectable 201 yards and three touchdowns while running for 36 yards against Auburn, Pavia almost doubled his total yardage against the Tigers.
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza led a remarkable comeback victory over Penn State to strengthen his Heisman campaign, but Pavia reminded that Heisman voters that he deserves to be in the race for the most prestigious award in college football.
Pavia accounted for 489 total yards of offense and four touchdowns to beat Auburn 45-38 in overtime. He was 25-of-37 for 377 passing yards with three touchdowns . He also rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Diego Pavia ends long droughts
With the victory, Vanderbilt (8-2) has eight victories for the first time since 2013. The Commodores had not started a season 8-2 since 1930. As the most elite academic institution in the Southeastern Conference, the Commodores have traditionally been a football doormat.
Pavia has changed that for Vanderbilt football. With the Albuquerque, N.M., native in charge of the offense, though, Vanderbilt has defeated Auburn in consecutive seasons for the first time since the Commodores did it during the 1949-1950 seasons.
Considering his 489 yards of offense and four touchdowns, Diego Pavia is the Latino Player of the Week for Week 10. Here’s how others Latinos in Division I football performed:
Auburn freshman Elijah Melendez had three tackles in the loss against Vanderbilt. Tight end Willie Rodriguez had an eight-yard catch for Kentucky in a 38-7 victory over Florida.
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Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas had four catches for 58 yards in a 20-9 victory over LSU. He added a seven-yard carry for the No. 4 Tide. Kicker Damian Ramos accounted for all of the Tigers’ points in the loss.
Ramos made three of four field goal attempts with a long of 44 yards. Georgia safety Joenel Aguero had seven tackles (two solo) to help the No. 5 Bulldogs beat Mississippi State 41-21.
KC Concepcion is TD Concepcion
KC Concepcion, a Paul Hornung Award finalist, extended his SEC touchdown lead to 10 while helping No. 3 Texas A&M improve to 10-0, 6-0 in the SEC. The junior had four catches for 84 yards, highlighted by a 48-yard touchdown catch and run on a screen pass, in a 38-17 victory over Missouri.
Concepcion has scored at least one touchdown in three consecutive games and in four of the last five. The junior transfer from NC State added eight rushing yards on two carries.
Linebacker Taurean York added two tackles for the Aggies. York guided the A&M defense so well, one Mizzou offensive lineman said it appeared as though the Aggies knew some play were coming before the Tigers ran them.
York showed once again why he’s a respected junior captain. Mizzou linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez had six tackles (one solo) with half a tackle for a loss in the defeat.
UCLA receiver Anthony Frias II had a nine-yard touchdown catch in a 28-21 loss to Nebraska. Rico Flores Jr. added six catches for 52 yards. USC’s Josiah Zamora had an 11-yard kick return and a five-yard punt return in a 38-17 victory over Northwestern.
Fernando Mendoza magic
Heisman Trophy frontrunner Fernando Mendoza saved Indiana with late heroics against Penn State. He completed 19 of 30 pass attempts for 218 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Mendoza hit Omar Cooper Jr. in the back of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds to play to cap a 27-24 comeback.
The redshirt junior transfer from Cal added six carries for 20 rushing yards and one touchdown. Penn State wide receiver Trebor Peña made six catches for 99 yards. He had a 43-yard catch in the second quarter, a 21-yard reception in the third and a 20-yard grab in the fourth.
Carlos Hernandez had an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown in a 16-9 upset victory over Virginia. He had three punt returns for 124 yards. Hernandez also had a four-yard reception.
North Carolina quarterback Gio Lopez led the Tar Heels over Stanford 20-15. He completed 18 of 25 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Stanford’s Jahsiah Galvan had seven tackles (three solo) with two tackles for a loss in defeat.
Tommy Castellanos completed 23 of 43 pass attempts with one touchdown and one interception in a 24-10 loss to Clemson. Yale sophomore receiver Jaxton Santiago caught seven passes for 42 yards in a 34-22 victory over Brown.
Houston’s kicker Ethan Sanchez went 3-for-3 in extra points and scored a 40 yard field goal to help the Cougars get the 30-27 victory against the Knights.
Jacob Rodriguez causes more turnovers
Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, a finalist for several major defensive postseason awards, now has a Heisman campaign as well. Rodriguez, Our Esquina’s Preseason Player of the Year, helped the Red Raiders make a major statement with a 29-7 victory over BYU.
The Butkus Award candidate had his eighth takeaway of the season and 18th of his career. Rodriguez had 14 tackles for the second time this season, finishing three shy of his career-high of 17. He added a fumble recovery and an interception in the dominant victory.
A day after the victory, Tech moved up to No. 8 in the AP and USA Today Coaches polls.
Arizona kicker Michael Salgado-Medina made a 41-yard field goal. He went 1-for-1 in extra points in the Wildcats’ 24-20 victory against Kansas. Alejandro Mata went 3-for-3 in field goals with the longest of 38 yards. He was 1-of-2 in extra points in the Buffaloes 29-22 loss against West Virginia.
San Diego State kicker Gabriel Plascencia went 2-for-3 on field goal attempts in the Aztecs’ 38-6 loss against Hawai’i. He was the only offense for the Aztecs, he scored a field goal from the 42 yard line and then later from the 43 yard line.
Freshman San Jose State running back Steve Chavez-Soto had nine carries for 49 yards and a touchdown in the Spartans’ 26-16 loss against Army. UNLV kicker Ramon Villela went 6-for-6 in extra points in a 42-10 victory over Colorado State.
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Parker Navarro passes for 201 yards
Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro was 16-of-31 for 201 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 24-20 victory over Miami of Ohio. Freshman defensive back Joel Cordoba had two tackles in Kent State’s 17-13 loss to Ball State.
Eastern Michigan defensive lineman Hector Gonzalez recorded two tackles in a 27-21 victory over Bowling Green. Alex Sanchez caught a 15-yard pass for App State in their 25-23 loss to Georgia Southern. Wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez caught a 80-yard touchdown in James Madison’s 35-23 win over Marshall.
Texas State cornerback Jaden Rios recorded five tackles along with three pass deflections in a 42-39 loss to Louisiana. Cornerback Zedekiah Rodriguez-Brown had one tackle in New Mexico State’s 24-21 loss to Kennesaw State.
Oregon State kicker Caleb Ojeda made a 33-yard field goal and went 2 for 2 on extra points in a 21-17 loss to Sam Houston. Wide receiver David Amador II caught three passes for 56 yards in UTSA’s 55-23 loss to South Florida.
Navy quarterback Jackson Gutierrez rushed for 37 yards on seven carries in a 49-10 loss to Notre Dame. Safety Jo Chavez recorded one tackle for Rice in a 24-17 victory over UAB.
Featured photo courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics.
Xavier Andrade
Xavier Andrade, who played football at Luther College, graduated with degrees in Communications and Political Science. He previously worked in editorial and social media for Hola Cultura, a Latino publication in Washington, D.C. Andrade currently coaches football at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, Calif.
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