No. 10 Alabama will host No. 16 Vanderbilt on Saturday. The two quarterbacks facing off have performed among the best in the SEC thus far.
Diego Pavia
Pavia enters this matchup with the third-best total quarterback rating (QBR) in the nation and an impressive 74.6% completion rate, a 15.2% increase from last season. He has accounted for 1,505 total yards and 15 total touchdowns through his team’s first five games, while turning the ball over just three times.
Pavia has helped Vanderbilt win each of its opening five games by over 20 points. The team’s 5-0 start is its best since 2008, when it rose as high as No. 13 in the AP Poll, the highest it’s ever been ranked.
In the team’s 55-35 victory over Utah State, Pavia was responsible for six total touchdowns and accounted for 400 total yards.
He was a catalyst in Vanderbilt’s shocking 40-35 upset win over then-No. 1 Alabama one year ago, completing 72.7% of his passes and picking up 308 total yards. He will look to repeat last year’s performance and give Alabama problems through both the air and on the ground.
“Tuscaloosa will be a good, fun time,” Pavia said. “I’ve never played there. I think a few of the guys have been there. This is what you come into the SEC for, big games like this. We’ll be real excited to go down there and check them out.”
The Crimson Tide defense was unable to stop him and the option-heavy Commodores offense last season, as it converted 12 of 18 third-down attempts and rushed for 166 yards.
Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack called Pavia “an exceptional football player,” adding that he thinks he “has gone from a great playermaker to an elite quarterback.”
Ty Simpson
Simpson has performed at a stellar level since Alabama’s 31-17 loss on the road to Florida State, completing 77.4% of his passes for 884 yards and nine touchdowns in the three games following. Simpson’s QBR of 84.2 is the fifth-highest in the SEC and the 12th-highest in the nation.
He was responsible for all three of the Crimson Tide’s touchdowns in its 24-21 upset road win over No. 5 Georgia. He tossed two and strolled in for the eventual deciding score just before halftime, silencing a Sanford Stadium crowd that had not seen a home loss since 2019.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart praised Simpson following his team’s loss.
“This quarterback is accurate,” Smart said. “He’s on time. He knows his protections. Watch the third downs and see. We have free runners at the quarterback and he gets the ball out. We get a free runner at the quarterback, he breaks a tackle, spins out and throws a completion. Play zone, he hits you in a soft spot. He made some really, really good plays.”
Simpson, like Pavia, has dual-threat prowess, but has not yet needed to utilize his legs to pick up chunk plays. Simpson was the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2022 and rushed for 862 yards in his senior season, but offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s system prefers an air attack to the ground game.
“You’re better off with your starter being able to throw the football in this offense than run it,” Grubb said Aug. 19. “We’ll certainly look for those opportunities because Ty is a good runner,” adding that it is important the offense makes sure Simpson is “upright.”
No. 10 Alabama will battle with No. 16 Vanderbilt at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on ABC.
