Diego Pavia has become a Vanderbilt legend and something of a folk hero around the SEC this year, in which he has led the Commodores to several monumental victories and a couple of near-misses.

Vanderbilt has beaten both Alabama and Auburn this season for the first time since 1955, meaning Pavia is one of a select group of quarterbacks who have achieved major success against both the Crimson Tide and Tigers. By our count, only 24 SEC quarterbacks since 1980 have pulled off that double in the same season (a couple more than once).

Pavia has actually beaten Auburn twice (and Hugh Freeze three times), leading New Mexico State to a win over Liberty in 2022 and Auburn last year before transferring to Vanderbilt and beating Auburn again last weekend. He also helped the Commodores spring a 35-30 win over the Crimson Tide back on Oct. 5.

Pavia’s combined stats against Alabama and Auburn the last two years included are 44-for-70 for 696 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions passing, plus another 117 yards rushing. Those are pretty impressive numbers against anyone.

In addition to Pavia, here are 12 other notable SEC quarterbacks who have beaten both Alabama and Auburn in the same season (listed in reverse chronological order):

1. Joe Burrow, LSU (2019)

It wasn’t just Alabama and Auburn that Burrow and LSU plowed through on their way to a national championship, it was the whole SEC. Auburn, however, did as well as anyone at keeping Burrow contained. Burrow completed 32 of 42 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a score in a 23-20 victory, with his 7-yard scoring run putting the Tigers up 10 in the fourth quarter. He was more prolific in a 46-41 shootout win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, completing 31 of 39 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns to outduel Tua Tagovailoa and the Crimson Tide. Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy that season, threw three touchdowns in the first half as the Tigers built a 33-13 halftime lead and held on for the win.

2. Chad Kelly, Ole Miss (2015)

Kelly’s performance in an early season, 43-37 win over Alabama helped Hugh Freeze secure a second straight win over the Crimson Tide. He completed 18 of 33 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns — including a 66-yarder to Quincy Adeboyejo that bounced off a defender’s helmet — and also ran for a score as the Rebels stunned the eventual national champions in Tuscaloosa. Against Auburn later that year, Kelly completed 33 of 51 passes for 383 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in a 27-19 victory. Kelly returned for the 2016 season and threw for a combined 886 yards and six touchdowns vs. Alabama and Auburn, though Ole Miss lost both games.

3. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M (2012)

Manziel’s magical Heisman Trophy-winning year included jaw-dropping performances on the road against both Alabama and Auburn. The redshirt freshman completed 24 of 31 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 92 yards in a 63-21 blistering of the Tigers in late October. About a month later, Manziel helped the Aggies spring the huge upset in Tuscaloosa, completing 16 of 23 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 90 yards and three scores in a 29-24 victory. Alabama went on to win the national championship that season, but Manziel’s juggling, dancing 10-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Swope midway through the first quarter helped Texas A&M build a 20-0 lead and probably locked up the Heisman for “Johnny Football.”

4. Eli Manning, Ole Miss (2003)

The Manning family as a whole enjoyed great success vs. Alabama over the years, and Eli was no different, going 2-1 in his career vs. the Crimson Tide. His most notable performance came in Oxford his senior year, when he completed 14 of 22 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for a score in a 43-28 victory. Later that season, he helped push Auburn toward its “JetGate” near-ouster of Tommy Tuberville by completing 19 of 30 passed for 218 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-20 win. Manning went just 1-2 vs. the Tigers, but finally got them his senior year.

5. David Greene, Georgia (2002-03)

Greene is the rare quarterback who beat both Alabama and Auburn twice each, pulling off the feat in the middle two years of his four seasons as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in a 27-25 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa in late September, then completed 18 of 35 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 24-21 win over Auburn in November, which helped the Bulldogs win the SEC East title. The following season, Greene led the Bulldogs past Alabama again in Athens, throwing for 252 yards and a touchdown in a 37-23 win. He again helped Georgia knock off Auburn later that season, throwing for 168 yards and a score in a 26-7 win in Athens that once more helped put Georgia in Atlanta for the SEC title game.

6. Rohan Davey, LSU (2001)

Davey was only the Tigers’ full-time starting quarterback for one season, but he led LSU to its first SEC championship since 1988 that year. In early November, he riddled Alabama’s defense for an SEC record 528 yards and an LSU record 35 completions along with two touchdowns in a 35-21 victory. Tigers receiver Josh Reed also set an SEC record with 19 receptions and 293 yards in the game. Davey’s numbers were more modest against Auburn, though he threw for 245 yards and a touchdown in a 27-14 victory. That game was postponed to December after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and served as a de facto SEC West championship game. Nick Saban’s Tigers went on to Atlanta and beat Tennessee for the league crown, though Davey missed most of that game due to injury.

7. Tee Martin, Tennessee (1998-99)

Martin went 4-0 in his career as a starter vs. Alabama and Auburn, which had to be particularly satisfying given that he was a Mobile native who starred at Williamson High School. Martin’s numbers were fairly pedestrian in all four games, though the “W” on the scoreboard was the most important thing. He ran for two touchdowns in a 35-18 victory over Alabama in Tennessee’s 1998 national championship season, then followed that up with a three-TD (two rushing, one passing) performance in a 21-7 win in Tuscaloosa in 1999. He wasn’t much of a difference-maker in two wins over Auburn, passing for just 68 yards in a 17-9 win in 1998 and throwing three interceptions in a 24-0 win the next year. But flags fly forever, as they say.

8. Wayne Madkin, Mississippi State (1998 & 2000)

Madkin, a Huntsville native, was another in-state standout who “got away” and came back to haunt his in-state schools. Best known for bearing a striking resemblance to comedian Chris Rock, Madkin led the Bulldogs to wins over Alabama and Auburn in both 1998 and 2000. He threw for 192 yards and rushed for a touchdown against the Crimson Tide to help the Bulldogs secure their lone SEC West title in 1998. He threw for just 76 yards and a touchdown against Auburn, but it was enough to spark a 38-21 win. Madkin also beat Alabama and Auburn two years later passing for 262 yards and a touchdown in a 29-7 win over the Crimson Tide and throwing for 197 yards and a score in a 17-10 victory over the Tigers. Madkin also started in an 18-16 win over Auburn in 1999, though backup Matt Wyatt (also an Alabama native) did most of the heavy lifting in a second-half Bulldogs comeback. Mississippi State lost to Alabama 19-7 later that year, so Madkin went 5-1 vs. Alabama and Auburn all told in his career.

9. Peyton Manning, Tennessee (1997)

The older Manning quarterback brother put up big numbers against both Alabama and Auburn in his senior season, in which Tennessee won its first SEC championship since 1990. He completed 23 of 37 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns in a rout of Alabama in Birmingham, his third straight win over the Crimson Tide after losing a close game as a freshman. Manning’s only meeting with Auburn came in the 1997 SEC championship game, which the Volunteers won in a 30-29 nail-biter. Manning completed 25 of 43 passes for 373 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions, and hit Marcus Nash for a 73-yard score early in the fourth quarter for what proved to be the winning points.

10. Danny Wuerffel, Florida (1996)

Wuerffel went 2-2 in his career vs. Auburn and 2-1 vs. Alabama, beating them both in his senior season just as Manning did. In a 51-10 victory over Auburn in Gainesville in mid-October, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner completed 17 of 30 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for a score. Wuerffel was even better in the SEC championship game vs. Alabama, completing 20 of 35 passes for 401 yards and a game-record six touchdowns in a 45-30 victory. Wuerffel not only won the Heisman that season, but led the Gators to their only national championship of the Steve Spurrier era.

11. Shane Matthews, Florida (1990-91)

Matthews was the original Fun N’ Gun triggerman under Spurrier, starting for three seasons and finishing his career as the SEC’s all-time leading passer. He beat Alabama and Auburn in both 1990 and 1991, throwing for 267 yards and a touchdown in a 17-13 win over the Crimson Tide and 207 yards in a 48-7 rout of the Tigers his sophomore year. Florida was not eligible for the SEC championship and a bowl game that year due to NCAA sanctions, but won the league title the following year as Matthews again led the Gators to wins against both Alabama and Auburn. He threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-0 domination of the Crimson Tide in early September, then passed for 264 yards and two scores and added a rushing TD in a 31-10 win over Auburn. Matthews led florida to a win over Auburn his senior year as well, but famously came up short against Alabama in the 1992 SEC championship game. It was Antonio Langham’s pick-6 late in the fourth quarter that gave that national-title-bound Crimson Tide a 28-21 victory.

12. Tony Robinson, Tennessee (1985)

The Volunteers won the SEC championship in 1985, and Robinson’s early-season performances against Auburn and Alabama helped kick-start a memorable year in Knoxville.” He passed for 259 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-20 win over the Tigers at Neyland Stadium in Week 2, knocking off the No. 1 team in the country and landing on the cover of the next week’s edition of Sports Illustrated. Three weeks later vs. Alabama, he passed for 130 yards and ran for 31 in a 16-14 victory. Robinson suffered a season-ending knee injury in that game, and back-up quarterback Daryl Dickey led the “Sugar Vols” to a 6-0-1 record the rest of the way, including a 35-7 rout of Miami in the Sugar Bowl. Robinson’s time as an SEC football star was brief, but he burned bright.

Others of note (in chronological order)

John Bond, Mississippi State (1980); Tommy Hodson, LSU (1988); Barry Lunney, Arkansas (1995); Matt Wyatt, Mississippi State (1996); Doug Johnson, Florida (1998); Matt Mauck, LSU (2003); JaMarcus Russell, LSU (2005); Mitch Mustain, Arkansas (2006); Matthew Stafford, Georgia (2007); Jarrett Lee, LSU (2011); Zach Calzada, Texas A&M (2021); Jayden Daniels, LSU (2022)