Mizzou defensive lineman Kristian Williams speaks with the media about the Commodores on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, leading up to a game vs. Vanderbilt. (Video by Mizzou Network, used with permission of Mizzou Athletics)
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri has four wins from its first four games of the season, as expected.
The No. 7 Tigers are undefeated heading into their bye week. But getting to that point was far from stress free.
It took two overtimes and a missed field goal in the second extra period for Mizzou to beat Vanderbilt 30-27 on Saturday.
But sugary icing splattered on by the opponent will not mask the bitterness of an error-riddled game that prompted MU to rely on the Commodores to miss from 31 yards away.
“We’re 4-0,†Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said, “and we’ve got a lot of work to do.â€
Before Saturday’s game, Drinkwitz was preaching tidiness when it came to the unforced errors that had popped up in the Tigers’ first three games of the season.
“It’s not about our opponent,†he said. “It’s about us and our approach and how much better we can improve, how much more disciplined and consistent we can be in all three phases.â€
Yet at times, there seemed to be a regression — or at a minimum, stagnancy.
Mizzou conceded the first touchdown of the game to Vanderbilt on a blown coverage reminiscent of a collapse a week earlier against Boston College. Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia made wideout Joseph McVay’s first collegiate touch a memorable one as the true freshman burst over the top of MU’s secondary for a 65-yard touchdown reception.
The Tigers equalized with a solid play design that gave quarterback Brady Cook a free bootleg and a simple pass to a wide-open Luther Burden III for a 20-yard touchdown.
That duo connected against on Mizzou’s first offensive play of overtime, a 25-yard dart straight to Burden in the end zone after he shook his matchup. But it otherwise was an down day for Cook.
Mizzou’s quarterback completed 23 of his 37 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Deep passing concerns weren’t exactly assuaged — though two shot plays hit Burden in the hands. Cook’s rushing was also stunted by its usual standards, with just seven yards picked up on the ground.
“I’m a little disappointed in how I performed, how the offense performed, straight up,†Cook said. “But at the end of the day, we found a way to win.â€
Less than a week after winning the Southeastern Conference’s special teams player of the week award, MU kicker Blake Craig missed on three field-goal attempts. He knocked a 24-yard chip shot off the upright, then whiffed from 40 and 46.
Craig also converted from 54 yards out and, in overtime, from 37 — the kind of duality that comes with an overtime escape.
“We didn’t have even close to our best game,†Drinkwitz said.
He included himself in that pronoun because of a dangerous clock management blunder before halftime. The Tigers faced a 4th and 8 near the end of the second quarter with a running clock that meant they didn’t need to run a play.
But they did, and Cook was sacked. That turnover on downs gave Vanderbilt the ball in Missouri territory with eight seconds left, which was just enough time to get into field-goal range. Those three points, paired with Mizzou’s misses and faltering offense that couldn’t close the deal, loomed over the second half of the game.
“Totally my fault,†Drinkwitz said. “That was a really haphazard decision by me. The team bailed me out. Bottom line, I’ve gotta be much better.â€
The clear positive from the MU offense was running back Nate Noel, who ran for a career-high 199 yards. After emerging as the head of the Tigers’ tailback committee near the end of the preseason, Noel’s burst and ability to navigate zone schemes have popped to a notable degree.
He had six runs of double-digit yards, including one 64-yard dash down to the 3-yard line that set up Missouri’s lone touchdown of the second half.
“Without him, we don’t win that game,†Cook said.
After a scoreless fourth quarter, the Tigers chose to start overtime on defense. Vanderbilt scored on its first possession from the 25-yard line, with Pavia scrambling up the middle to set up a 2-yard passing touchdown. The Commodores kicked an extra point, requiring Mizzou to score a touchdown to stay alive.
That’s where Cook and Burden picked up a dime at the right time.
“That was a fun play,†Cook said. “We repped it all week, Luther ran a great route, little double move. He executed it perfectly … and I knew we had him.â€
Missouri began the second overtime with the ball but did not get a first down. A short pass to tight end Brett Norfleet and minimal rush by Noel set up a 3rd and 5, on which Cook threw into double coverage in the end zone.
After the incompletion, Craig stepped up for his 37-yard make.
Needing to hold Vanderbilt to a field goal for survival, Mizzou’s defense rose to the occasion. Pavia scrambled all the way to the Tigers’ 12 — keep in mind that overtime possessions start inside field goal range, at the 25-yard line. But an offensive pass interference flag in the end zone backed the Commodores up. They recouped some of the yardage but needed to try a 31-yard field goal.
Vanderbilt’s field goal try went wide left.
“A weight just dropped off my shoulders,†defensive tackle Chris McClellan said.
Mizzou enters a bye week with a four-game October slate that will, as a collective bunch of games, likely be tougher than what the Tigers have faced so far. Three of those matchups will be on the road, including two games in front of hostile six-figure crowds.
But preparation for that will wait. MU wants to start by solving its own problems.
“We gotta go take a hard look at the Missouri Tigers,†Drinkwitz said.
Mizzou defensive lineman Kristian Williams speaks with the media about the Commodores on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, leading up to a game vs. Van…
Vanderbilt cornerback Tyson Russell chases Mizzou running back Nate Noel, who is on a 65-yard run in the second half of a game on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Columbia, Mo.
Missouri's Joseph Charleston, left, and Marvin Burks Jr. bring down Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia in the first overtime of a game on Saturday, Sept. 21 2024, in Columbia, Mo.