Cam Ward’s arrival at Miami garnered plenty of fanfare. Conversely, Diego Pavia’s move to Vanderbilt didn’t receive as much attention.
Both quarterbacks delivered stellar debut performances with their new teams on the first full Saturday of the college football season.
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In a year in which the majority of power conference teams are starting quarterbacks who have switched schools at least once during their college careers, Ward and Pavia demonstrated how much of a difference a transfer can make at the position.
Pavia, who arrived from New Mexico State, led Vanderbilt to a 34-27 overtime upset of Virginia Tech, a 13 ½-point favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Pavia went 12 of 16 for 190 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Pavia’s 4-yard run in overtime accounted for the winning margin.
“Out of the portal, people wanted me but it was never Power Five," Pavia said. “I just feel like I’m the best player in the country, and I’m here to show it, and that’s what I want to do week in and week out, whatever it takes to win. And that’s my mentality every single week that I step on the field.”
Ward was even more impressive.
The former Washington State quarterback was 26 of 35 for 385 yards with three touchdowns and an interception as No. 19 Miami rolled to a 41-17 victory at Florida. Ward, who began his college career at Football Championship Subdivision program Incarnate Word, also ran for 33 yards on three carries.
“I wanted to accomplish a lot in college, especially at the FBS level,” Ward said. “I won a lot of games at the FCS level. So when I made that jump to the Power Five, I didn’t get the experience I wanted early on. God gave me another shot, to come do it in Miami. What other place would you want to do it at?”
Here’s a look at how some other transfer quarterbacks fared Saturday in their debuts with their new teams:
Charlotte's Max Brown (formerly at Florida) was 22 of 45 for 193 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 30-7 loss to James Madison.
Marshall's Stone Earle (Abilene Christian and North Texas) went 10 of 16 for 97 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for 55 yards on eight carries in a 45-3 rout of Stony Brook. Braylon Braxton (Tulsa) also played for Marshall and went 7 of 11 for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
UConn’s Nick Evers (Oklahoma and Wisconsin) was 6 of 17 for 73 yards with an interception in a 50-7 loss to Maryland.
No. 3 Oregon's Dillon Gabriel (UCF and Oklahoma) went 41 of 49 for 380 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 24-14 victory over Idaho.
East Carolina's Jake Garcia (Miami and Missouri) was 23 of 36 for 308 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions in a 42-3 win over Norfolk State. He also rushed seven times for 39 yards.
No. 2 Ohio State’s Will Howard (Kansas State) went 17 of 28 for 228 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions in a 52-6 blowout of Akron.
No. 7 Notre Dame's Riley Leonard (Duke) went 18 of 30 for 158 yards passing and rushed for 63 yards on 12 carries as the Irish won 23-13 at No. 20 Texas A&M.
Syracuse’s Kyle McCord (Ohio State) was 27 of 39 for 354 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in a 38-22 triumph over Ohio.
Oregon State's Jevani McCoy (Idaho) was 9 of 10 for 114 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in a 38-15 victory over Idaho State.
North Texas' Chandler Morris (Oklahoma and TCU) was 32 of 41 for 415 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 52-38 victory at South Alabama. Morris also ran for two touchdowns.
Utah State's Spencer Petras (Iowa) was 10 of 15 for 145 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 36-14 victory over Robert Morris.
Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke (Ohio) went 15 of 24 for 180 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in a 31-7 triumph over Florida International.
Mississippi State's Blake Shapen (Baylor) was 15 of 20 for 247 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 56-7 blowout of Eastern Kentucky. He also rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
UNLV's Matthew Sluka (Holy Cross) went 6 of 13 for 71 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a 27-7 victory over Houston. He also rushed for 59 yards on 11 carries.
Louisville’s Tyler Shough (Oregon and Texas Tech) was 18 of 24 for 232 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in a 62-0 blowout of Austin Peay.
Eastern Michigan’s Cole Snyder (Rutgers and Buffalo) was 17 of 29 for 241 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions in a 28-14 victory over UMass. He also rushed for 28 yards and one touchdown on six carries.
Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby (Indiana) was 22 of 31 for 383 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 38-20 victory over Towson. He also ran for two touchdowns.
Rice's EJ Warner (Temple) was 27 of 44 for 227 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 34-14 loss to Sam Houston.
Northwestern’s Mike Wright (Vanderbilt and Mississippi State) was 18 of 30 for 178 yards and rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on nine carries in a 13-6 victory over Miami (Ohio).
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