'My Job Is To Fill The Seats': Diego Pavia Makes Expectations For Vanderbilt Extremely Clear

'My Job Is To Fill The Seats': Diego Pavia Makes Expectations For Vanderbilt Extremely Clear originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

When it comes to SEC programs, there's no doubt that in the last decade, the Vanderbilt Commodores have been one of the least impressive, compiling a horrendous 40-80 overall record, while going 15-66 in conference matchups.

However, 2024 may have been a turning point for the team, going 7-6 and defeating the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Birmingham Bowl to secure their first winning season and bowl victory since 2013.

Now, with the 2025 season quickly approaching, in a video posted to the "Vanderbilt Athletics" YouTube channel, starting quarterback Diego Pavia broke down his personal and team expectations.

“I think people want to see us win more,” Diego Pavia said. “You know, what I can do is just distribute the ball better. Timing routes, I worked on a lot. My feet I worked on a lot, and my job is to fill the seats, and the way we fill the seats is with winning. So, our goal is the national championship.”

Can Vanderbilt Win the National Championship?

That's obviously a bold statement from Pavia and barring one of the biggest Cinderella runs in college football history, Vanderbilt winning or even competing for a national championship is extremely far-fetched.

In all of college football, ESPN's FPI places the Commodores at No. 56, which is the lowest of any SEC team, with a projected win-loss total of 4.8-7.2.

In fact, the team has just a 30.8% chance to win at least six games, a 0.0% chance of winning the conference, a 0.9% chance of earning a spot in the College Football Playoff and a 0.0% chance of winning the national championship.

Fan Attendance Was Good in 2024

Last season, the Commodores drew a good amount of fans to their home games, having an average attendance og 28,091, which ended up being a slight improvement over 2023, when the average was 25,509, per D1.ticker.

In fact, that average almost completely filled up FirstBank Stadium, because due to construction, the capacity, which usually sits at just over 41,000, was reduced to 28,934 according to The Tennessean's Aria Gerson.

With Vanderbilt set to play their first home game against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers on Aug. 30, Pavia's goal to "fill the seats" will be challenged early on.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.