Auburn football looks to get a second win in a row after snapping a three-game losing streak against Kentucky, but Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze will be looking to snap a different streak this weekend against Vanderbilt.
While this is not the first time Freeze has taken on Vanderbilt, as the Tigers traveled to Nashville, TN last season in a 31-15 victory, it will be the third time facing off against current Vanderbilt starting quarterback Diego Pavia and staff consultant Jerry Kill.
"I’m sick of seeing that quarterback," Freeze said with some laughter Monday afternoon. "I’ve had enough of him. What a competitor he is and the job that Clark Lea and his staff have done there."
Kill, the former head coach of New Mexico State, and Pavia, former quarterback for New Mexico State, both joined the Commodores this past offseason and have led them to unprecedented success, including a 40-35 victory over No. 1 Alabama.
This will be the third meeting between the pair and Freeze. The duo has beaten Freeze twice in significant upset victories on the road.
November 26, 2022 (New Mexico State 49-14)
The first meeting between Kill in his first year at New Mexico State and Freeze in his final year at Liberty were heading in different directions and entering the contest.
New Mexico State had won three of their last four games and entered 4-5 trying to help book a ticket to their first bowl game since 2017.
After an 8-1 start, Liberty reached as high as No. 19 in the AP poll. However, Liberty had suffered two consecutive losses leading up to the game and needed to avoid a third loss to keep its Conference USA title hopes alive.
Both teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter before New Mexico State went on a 35-to-nothing scoring run, blew the doors open, and jumped out to a 49-7 lead with six minutes remaining.
Liberty scored a touchdown with under a minute left in the game, but the damage had already been done.
Pavia did it all and was responsible for six of the team's seven touchdowns with 214 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, 125 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns.
All three passing touchdowns came from 30+ yards, and the Kill and Pavia combo moved to 1-0 against Freeze.
November 18, 2023 (New Mexico State 31-10)
After departing from Liberty to Auburn Freeze, he unexpectedly found himself face-to-face with New Mexico State for the second consecutive season.
Pavia and Kill entered the game with six straight wins and an 8-3 start, one of the best in program history, and Auburn had won three straight conference games and returned to Jordan-Hare after a convincing 48-10 victory over Arkansas.
With the Iron Bowl to look forward to the next week, the Tigers looked to have a tune-up game and carry some momentum into the matchup.
Kill and Pavia had other plans, such as shutting the Tigers out in the first quarter while holding a 7-0 lead. Auburn responded with a touchdown, but the Aggies held a 10-7 lead going into the half.
Auburn could not contain the Aggies and allowed two more touchdowns including one to current Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers.
A late field goal cut the lead to 14, but the Tigers could not climb back in. A late touchdown run put the game away, causing one of the largest upsets in Jordan-Hare history.
Pavia was once again a problem with 201 yards, three passing touchdowns, and 35 yards on the ground.
The Auburn Tigers and Vanderbilt Commodores will meet this Saturday, Nov. 2 at 11:45a.m. CST. Freeze will try to right the ship on the Tigers' season and conquer a duo that has given him trouble the past two years.
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Craig Noyes is a senior from Kensington, Maryland, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2023.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @CraigNoyes58
