Missouri football remains undefeated this season at 4-0 and 1-0 in SEC play, knocking off Vanderbilt in their first bit of conference action.

“I was really proud of the way our team fought […] they just kept fighting for each other,” said Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz. “The crowd was unbelievable all game and they were the difference.”

The duel began with Vanderbilt striking first with a 92-yard scoring drive. This culminated with a 65-yard touchdown on blown coverage as quarterback Diego Pavia connected with wide receiver Joseph McVay. 

The Tigers notched their first points as quarterback Brady Cook scrambled for 13 yards into the Vanderbilt redzone, and hit receiver Luther Burden III on the next play for a 20-yard catch and run for the score.

Vanderbilt knocked on the door of the endzone at the Missouri four-yard line, but the Tiger defense held strong through the second quarter. They limited the Commodores to a field goal, taking a 10-7 lead.

Tiger running back Nate Noel anchored the offense on a  91-yard drive, taking carries for 32 and 17-yard gains. However, Missouri ultimately settled for a field goal that kicker Blake Craig  did not connect on.

The Tiger defense forced a three-and-out thanks to Chuck Hicks’ sack on third down. The offense bounced back as Craig hit a 23-yard field goal to tie up the game at 10-10.

A Missouri turnover on downs at the end of the first half gave the Commodores great field position, as kicker Brock Taylor nailed a 57-yard field goal to give Vanderbilt a 13-10 halftime lead.

Missouri opened the half looking strong, with Craig hitting a deep field goal of his own from 54-yards out.

Noel had an stellar outing with a career-high of 199 rushing yards and a standout 64-yard run down to the Vanderbilt three-yard line. Running back Marcus Carroll capped off the drive with a touchdown run up the middle.

“I’m just here to do as best as I could and help everybody around me as much as I can,” said Noel.

Vanderbilt tied things back up to close the third quarter, as Pavia led the Commodores down the field and running back AJ Newberry punched the ball in from four-yards out. 

The fourth quarter was a gritty back-and-forth defensive affair. Clutch defensive efforts by safety Daylan Carnell and defensive tackle Chris McClellan on third-down pass deflections couldn’t translate to offensive success. 

Craig missed two field goals to take the lead early in the quarter. Vanderbilt had their own kicking struggles, missing a field goal of their own late in regulation. These difficulties set the stage for overtime.

Pavia drove the Commodores down to the goal line and Gabe Fisher finished off the drive with a two-yard rush for the first points of overtime.

Missouri responded on their first play of overtime as Cook lofted the ball to Burden in the endzone for a 25-yard score and took the game to a second overtime period. 

Missouri was up first in the second period and scored. Craig stepped up in a massive way, despite his inconsistent outing. He drilled a 37-yard field goal in what proved to be the game winner. 

The Tigers defense held the Commodores out of the endzone and forced a failed field goal attempt to seal the 30-27 win.

“We got to go take a hard look at the Missouri tigers,” said Drinkwitz. “I’m concerned about our team enjoying a win. 4-0 is as good as we can be record wise, but we’re not as good as we can be play wise.”

Cook passed for 226-yards with two touchdowns; both went to Burden who had 76 receiving yards. Theo Wease Jr. also played a part in the win as he recorded 55 receiving yards himself.

McClellan shined on the line, as he tallied 7 tackles and 2.5 for loss. Safety Marvin Burks Jr. led the way for all Tigers with 12 total tackles in what was an up and down defensive day for the Tigers.

As result of the narrow win, Missouri has dropped four spots in the AP Polls to No. 11.

Missouri will have a week to assess their current situation before they travel to College Station, Texas to take on No. 25 Texas A&M on Oct. 5 at 11 a.m. for their first road game of the season.

Edited by Michael Stamps | mstamps@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com