COLUMBIA, Mo. — For a couple of weeks earlier in this college football season, Vanderbilt looked like a program that might be on the doorstep. Now, it’s unclear whether the Commodores can do more than be the doormat of the Southeastern Conference.
No. 7 Missouri (3-0) hosts Vanderbilt (2-1) at 3:15 p.m. Saturday in both schools’ first SEC game of the 2024 season.
The ’Dores have already had a roller coaster of an opening three weeks to the campaign. They surprised Virginia Tech in Week 1, missing a potential game-winning field goal as time expired but scoring a touchdown and getting a stop in overtime for a victory.
Vanderbilt dominated Alcorn State and East St. Louis product and former Mizzou quarterback Tyler Macon in Week 2, then played an odd nonconference game on the road against Georgia State last weekend. The Panthers led for nearly all of that contest, but the Commodores took a lead with 1:14 left in the game — only to blow the lead to a 59-second Georgia State touchdown drive for a loss.
That took Vanderbilt from receiving votes in the AP Poll to off voters’ ballots entirely.
Now, as was the case last year, the Tigers and Clark Lea’s Commodores face each other early in SEC action.
“Vandy, I think, has always been a very difficult out for us,†MU coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “Except for during the COVID year.â€
Drinkwitz is undefeated against Vanderbilt in four tries. Mizzou won 41-0 in 2020, but the past three games against the Commodores have been tougher. The last time Vandy played in Columbia was a narrow 17-14 escape for MU in 2022. Last season, the Tigers controlled the game on the road, but Vanderbilt remained threatening late in a 38-21 win.
Missouri is once again heavily favored at home, but Drinkwitz, of course, found reasons to praise the visitors.
“I think this is Clark’s best team since he’s been there,†Drinkwitz said. “He’s done a really nice job of utilizing the transfer portal and still developing his players.â€
Development headlines Vanderbilt’s defense, which Lea is calling himself this season. Safety CJ Taylor, widely considered to be the ’Dores best defensive player, is back this season, though he’ll miss the first half of Saturday’s game due to a targeting foul against Georgia State.
The most eye-popping player for Vandy is on offense. Quarterback Diego Pavia opened eyes with his legs during the season opener against Virginia Tech and continues a line of mobile quarterbacks that the Tigers must reckon with.
Through three games, Pavia has completed 40 of 62 passes for 543 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also Vanderbilt’s leading rushing in both attempts and yards, tucking the ball 54 times for 195 yards and two scores on the ground.
“They utilize their quarterback, Diego, in a lot of different ways, and he gives them a chance on every play to be explosive,†Drinkwitz said.
Though Pavia is in his first season with the Commodores, Mizzou has seen him before: He played at New Mexico State for two seasons before transferring into the SEC.
MU hosted NMSU in 2022, a 45-14 result for the Tigers. In that game, Pavia went just 6 for 17 through the air for 76 yards and an interception while running the ball nine times for 50 yards.
It wasn’t until last season that the former high school wrestler really seemed to find his legs. In 2023, Pavia threw for 2,973 yards and 26 touchdowns but also ran for 923 yards and seven scores while winning Conference USA’s offensive player of the year award.
He guided New Mexico State to an eight-game winning streak that included a road win over Auburn — a result that opened the conference’s eyes to what he can do.
Pavia marks the third week in a row in which Mizzou’s defense will be tasked with containing a quarterback who looks for opportunities to run. It’ll be a familiar test, especially after facing Boston College’s Thomas Castellanos last time out. Both are legitimate dual-threat options, though the Tigers are unlikely to trot out the exact same game plan against Pavia.
“Diego’s a different style of runner than Castellanos,†Drinkwitz said. “He’s more physical downhill, kind of has the old okey-doke on his option stuff, will lower his shoulder and take on defenders — so it’s different. But then there’s some schematic things that are similar. One of the first couple plays of the (Boston College) game, they ran a triple-option scheme that shows up this week in the exact same formation. There’s some of that stuff that will carry.â€
Pavia’s preferred target is tight end Eli Stowers, who followed him to Vanderbilt from New Mexico State. Stowers has 12 catches for 163 yards this season — both team highs — to go with a receiving score and a passing touchdown.
He’s a unique college football player. Initially a four-star quarterback recruit at Texas A&M, Stowers switched positions and levels of football before climbing back up into the SEC.
“Traditionally, when the ball is going to get thrown, he’s looking for (Stowers),†Drinkwitz said. “So we have to understand that if we have him in man or he’s in our zone, we need to cover him because the quarterback’s looking for him.â€