Birmingham Bowl
Georgia Tech (7-5, 5-3 ACC) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6, 3-5 SEC)
When: Friday, Dec. 27 • 2:30 p.m. CT
Where: Protective Stadium • Birmingham, Ala.
Watch: ESPN (Dave Neal, Aaron Murray and Ashley ShahAhmadi)
Listen: 102.5 The Game (Until 6 p.m.) & 94.9 The Fan (Andrew Allegretta, Norman Jordan and Kevin Ingram)
Birmingham Bowl Bound
• For the 10th time in school history, Vanderbilt football is headed to a bowl game. The Commodores will face Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium.
• Vanderbilt is in the postseason for first time since 2018 when it dropped at 45-38 decision to Baylor in the Texas Bowl. The Dores are looking for their first postseason victory since the 2013 campaign when Jordan Matthews earned MVP honors in a then-BBVA Compass, now Birmingham, Bowl win over Houston.
• With the return to the Birmingham Bowl, Vanderbilt will have played six of its 10 bowl games in Alabama or Tennessee.
• Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech have met 38 times with the Yellow Jackets holding a 20-15-3 edge in the series. Tech won the last meeting, 38-7, in Atlanta in 2016.
• The teams were both members of the Southeastern Conference from its founding until 1963 when Georgia Tech departed to become an independent. Vandy’s last win in the series was in Nashville in 1941.
• Vandy and Georgia Tech have never met in the postseason, while it will be Vanderbilt’s fourth bowl game against an ACC team. The Dores defeated Boston College and NC State in the Music City Bowl in 2008 and 2012, respectively, and fell to NC State in the 2016 Independence Bowl.
Postseason SEC Accolades
• Vanderbilt football’s historic season has resulted in the Commodores collecting SEC Coach of the Year (Clark Lea) and SEC Newcomer of the Year (Diego Pavia).
• It is the first time since Warren Norman was selected SEC Freshman of the Year in 2009 that Vanderbilt has collected an SEC individual postseason award from the league’s coaches.
• Lea is the first SEC Coach of the Year on West End since Bobby Johnson, Lea’s own coach as a player at Vandy, in 2008. Johnson led the Commodores to a 7-6 mark and Music City Bowl win, Vandy’s first bowl win since 1955. He shared the award with Alabama’s Nick Saban and Houston Nutt from Ole Miss, meaning the last time a Vanderbilt coach won the award outright was in 1982 when George MacIntyre led Vandy to an 8-4 mark and berth in the Hall of Fame Bowl.
• Vanderbilt won six of its first nine games for the first time since 1982, won at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time ever, defeated Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955, was ranked in the Associated Press poll for the first time since the conclusion of the 2013 season, played a game as a ranked team for the first time since the 2012 Music City Bowl and played a regular season game while ranked for the first time since 2008.
• Pavia collects the SEC’s first-ever Newcomer of the Year award. Separate from the Freshman of the Year, Newcomer of the Year recognizes the top transfer student-athlete who has not previously competed in the SEC and is not a freshman in eligibility status.
• Named a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award, Pavia threw the fewest interceptions by a Vanderbilt quarterback since at least 1996 (minimum 200 attempts) and had the second-fewest interceptions among SEC quarterbacks this season with at least 250 attempts.
• In addition to the pair of individual awards, four Dores earned All-SEC honors. Eli Stowers was named the first-team tight end, Jesse Mirco (punter) and Martel Hight (return specialist) were chosen for the second team and Brock Taylor was named the third-team kicker.
Dominant Diego
• Diego Pavia’s 17 passing touchdowns ranked seventh in the SEC during the regular season. The 17 touchdowns are sixth most by a Commodore in a season.
• On the ground, no Power 4 quarterback had more rushing yards at the conclusion of the regular season as he went for a Vanderbilt quarterback-record 716 yards. He is fourth among Power 4 signal-callers with 28 rushes of at least 10 yards on the season.
• For his career, Pavia leads active Power 4 quarterbacks with 2,147 rushing yards, while his 6,556 career passing yards are eighth among active FBS quarterbacks.
• He was named one of 16 semifinalists for the 88th Annual Maxwell Award, as well as one of 16 semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien Award.
• His performance in the win over top-ranked Alabama on Oct. 5 landed him SEC Offensive Player of the Week. He was also named the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week and the Maxwell Award Player of the Week.
• He became the 13th quarterback since 2004 to defeat Alabama and Auburn in the same season and just the fourth do to so without playing in the SEC West (Stetson Bennett, Deshaun Watson, Matthew Stafford). He is the seventh quarterback in that same time frame to have at least three career wins over the Tigers and Tide, joining Jayden Daniels, Bennett, Joe Burrow, Jarrett Lee, Jordan Jefferson, Stafford and JaMarcus Russell.
• Pavia piloted a deadly efficient offense in 2023 while leading New Mexico State to 10 wins. He ranked among the top 35 in FBS in passing touchdowns, points, passing yards per attempt and passing efficiency last season. In addition, Pavia ranked fifth among FBS quarterbacks in Pro Football Focus’ Elusive Rating.
Fewest INTerceptions
• Diego Pavia’s four interceptions thrown this season are the fewest by a Vanderbilt quarterback in a season with at least 200 attempts since 1996.
• He topped the mark held by Jay Cutler (2004), Riley Neal (2019), Jordan Rodgers (2012) and Larry Smith (2010).
• With 277 attempts, Pavia hit the mark with more passing attempts than three of the four who previously held the record (Rodgers had 319 attempts).
• As a team, Vandy’s four interceptions this season are the fewest on record (1946). The previous low total for interceptions thrown was five in 2004 and 2012. It is just the 13th time since 1946 that Vanderbilt has thrown fewer than 10 interceptions in a season.
Special Plays, Special Players
• The Commodores claimed three All-SEC awards on special teams. Jesse Mirco (punter) and Martel Hight (return specialist) were chosen to the second team and Brock Taylor was named the third-team kicker.
• Vanderbilt’s special teams efficiency of 72.0 according to ESPN’s FPI ranks third among FBS programs and leads all SEC teams.
• Vandy is first in the SEC and sixth in FBS with 16.2 yards per punt return. Hight leads all SEC players and is second nationally in punt return average.
• Mirco is averaging 48.0 yards per punt on the season, best in the SEC and second in FBS.
• Mirco was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 4) after averaging 52.9 yards on a career-high eight punts at Auburn.
• Taylor drilled a program-record 57-yard field goal at Missouri on Sept. 21. Taylor has five makes of 50 or more yards this season, making him the first player on record to accomplish the feat at Vanderbilt.
• Taylor has been named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week twice this season. His 18 field goals are second-most by a Commodore in a season. Taylor is 11-for-11 over the last eight games.
• In the regular-season finale vs. Tennessee, Junior Sherrill took the opening kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown, which marked Vandy’s first kickoff return for a touchdown since Aug. 26, 2023 vs. Hawai’i. • The 100-yard return was the longest by a Commodore since Sept. 20, 2014 vs. South Carolina. It was the first kickoff return for a score that Tennessee had given up since the 2021 season when Missouri accomplished the feat.
Bear-Lea Scratching the Surface
• Head coach Clark Lea was named the SEC Coach of the Year after leading Vanderbilt to its first postseason appearance since 2018. He’s the first Commodore coach to win the award since Bobby Johnson in 2008. Johnson was Lea’s coach during his playing career at Vandy.
• Lea has also been named AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year and is a finalist for the National Coach of the Year.
• He was also named to the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year watch list after Vanderbilt’s historical first half of the season.
• Many of the positive developments this season have come after Lea retooled the coaching staff following the 2023 season. In addition to taking over defensive coordinator duties, Lea hired a new offensive coordinator (Tim Beck), director of sports performance (Robert Stiner) and chief consultant (Jerry Kill).
• With 11 new hires on the football coaching staff and over 50 new student-athletes on the roster, Lea’s Commodores have made history this fall. With victories in six of its first nine games, Vanderbilt recorded its best start since 1982 and is bowl eligible for the first time since 2018.
Bowling on The Plains
• Vanderbilt defeated Auburn 17-7 on Nov. 2 to collect its first win at Jordan-Hare Stadium in its 10th visit all-time.
• With their sixth win, the Commodores became bowl eligible for the first time since 2018.
• The Commodores have defeated both Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955.
• The Dores held the Tigers to seven points, fewest versus a Power 4 opponent since Kansas State in 2017 and fewest against an SEC opponent since Missouri in 2015.
• Jesse Mirco finished the game with eight punts for 423 yards. His average of 52.9 yards per punt was second-best by a Vandy punter (minimum five attempts) in a single game. Mirco was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week.
• Diego Pavia became the 13th starting quarterback since 2004 to defeat both Alabama and Auburn in the same season.
Brocket Launcher
• Brock Taylor made his 17th field goal at LSU, a 47-yarder, to move into second on Vanderbilt’s season field goal record list. He increased his season total to 18 field goals with a make vs. Tennessee in the regular-season finale and is now two shy of matching the program record of 20 set by Carey Spear in 2012.
• Taylor is 11-for-11 in the last eight games.
• He connected on a program-record 57-yard field goal at Missouri on Sept. 21. Taylor has five makes of 50 or more yards this season, making him the first player on record to accomplish the feat at Vanderbilt.
• Taylor has been named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week twice this season and was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award on Nov. 19.
rELIable
• Eli Stowers’ 583 receiving yards this season are the second-most by a Vanderbilt tight end since 1996. He trails only the 774 accumulated by Jared Pinkney in the 2018 season. Pinkney, Stowers and Steven Scheu (2014) are the only Vanderbilt tight ends since 1996 to eclipse 500 receiving yards in a season.
• In addition, Stowers is the only Vanderbilt tight end since 1996 to complete a pass in a game after he hit fellow tight end Cole Spence for a 17-yard touchdown in the win over Alcorn State.
• Stowers finished the regular season second among SEC tight ends, sixth in the Power 4 tight ends and 10th among all of FBS tight ends in receiving yards.
• Stowers became the first Vandy tight end since at least 1996 to have multiple games with 100-plus receiving yards in a season. He has three such games this season after totaling 110 receiving yards vs. Georgia State and 130 vs. Ball State in addition to the Alabama game.
• Stowers became just the sixth tight end since 1996 to register 100-plus receiving yards in a game vs. Alabama.
