Avenging losses in college football is different in the age of unlimited transfers and NIL payouts.

Virginia Tech fans remember last year’s overtime loss at Vanderbilt, the first of several disappointing finishes for the Hokies, who eventually eked out a bowl bid, but were not a factor in the ACC standings by the middle of the season.

For the Commodores, it was a prelude to a season that went on to produce wins over the likes of Kentucky, Auburn and Alabama on the SEC schedule, then concluded with a win over Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl.

The turnover on both teams was significant, leaving a limited number of players with direct knowledge of 2024.

“It’s just the next opponent,” Virginia Tech defensive line coach J.C. Price said. “We’re not looking at anything from last year. … We’re a different team, they’re a different team. We have a different defensive line in our room, they have a different offensive line.”

There will be one very familiar face on the visitors’ side. Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia is back, and thanks to how his life has gone in the year since orchestrating that comeback win over the Hokies, he will be the best-known individual on the field Saturday night at Lane Stadium.

Pavia not only led his team to the upset of the then-No. 1 Crimson Tide, he did it in a manner considered brash by many of the SEC’s elite. He later petitioned for, and earned, an extra year of eligibility after successfully arguing that the time he spent playing junior-college football should not be counted as part of his NCAA eligibility.

And if any Southeastern Conference fans had forgotten what Pavia had contributed the year before, some of his best moments were chronicled on the Netflix series “SEC Football: Any Given Saturday,” which premiered last month. When ESPN and SEC Network broadcaster Paul Finebaum asked Pavia about the series and the Commodores’ outlook for 2025, he did not dial back his confidence.

“This year’s just different,” he said last month. “I think we’ve got the tools on offense and defense to put our best foot forward and go out and win a national championship. … That’s the standard.”

The Vandy signal-caller did not hurt his brand in last week’s debut either, completing 20 of 25 passes for 275 yards and matching his career high with three TD passes in a 45-3 win over Charleston Southern.

“Obviously, (Pavia) is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, in my opinion,” Hokies coach Brent Pry said. “We saw it first-hand, and then he took down No. 1 Alabama last year. He looks even better to me right now.”

The Hokies’ defense has a fundamental idea of what to expect on Saturday. They saw a similar style of player last Sunday in Atlanta when they faced South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who threw for 209 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a 15-yard score in the Gamecocks’ 24-11 win.

Price said while Vanderbilt’s offensive philosophy is different than South Carolina’s, stopping Vandy still comes down to Virginia Tech’s defensive line forcing Pavia out of his comfort zone in the backfield. What will likely change is the approach.

“It’s a different mindset because it’s a different team,” Price said. “What we needed to do to slow down South Carolina is a little different than what we needed to slow down Vanderbilt. That’s the great thing about (new Hokies defensive coordinator Sam Siefkes’) system — it’s easily adaptable. How we attack people week to week can change by what they do on offense.”

Virginia Tech linebacker Jaden Keller, left, and defensive lineman Emmett Laws sack South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers on Sunday. Virginia Tech defensive line coach J.C. Price said forcing Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia out of his comfort zone in the backfield will be a key to Saturday’s game. (Mike Buscher/AP)

The Commodores are also hoping to use Pavia in a different manner, limiting his running plays, especially early in the season. His heavy workload as a ball-carrier early in 2024 — against the Hokies, he rushed for 104 yards and a TD while throwing for 190 and two scores — took his toll. Pavia admits now that he played a major portion of last season with an injured hamstring.

“We understand that we need him healthy late in the season,” Vandy coach Clark Lea said this week. “I still think it’s hard for me to coach him out of his competitive edge because we’re going to need that edge later in the season.

“We need him to play with that edge, when we need it. But I’d love to see us get things going without him having to carry the football.”

Last year’s success led to a boost in NIL resources, which led to the Commodores being very aggressive in the transfer portal. On offense, Vanderbilt’s depth showed up with 10 players catching at least one pass and four ball-carriers (including Pavia) netting at least 19 rushing yards.

Whether the Hokies’ defensive line can make Pavia less comfortable than last week will have a lot to do with how much the unit has improved. Virginia Tech registered four sacks against the Gamecocks, with one resulting in a safety. Price said it was a good start for his unit, but it wasn’t perfect.

“We just need more consistency,” he said. “You see your most improvement between Week 1 and Week 2. I want to see us do better fundamentally. Even in some of the plays we made, the footwork could have been better, the hand placement could have been better, the pad level could have been better, the finish could have been better.”

https://www.dailypress.com/2025/09/05/revenge-not-a-factor-for-hokies-in-rematch-with-vanderbilt/