Missouri’s offense has been less than impressive the last few weeks. Fortunately for the Tigers, they may have found an even more unstable offense in Vanderbilt, who will travel to Faurot Field this week for Mizzou’s Homecoming game.
The Commodores rank near the bottom of the Southeastern Conference in nearly all of the major offensive categories. And the opening betting line for the game had Missouri at -21.5. But Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel said the Tigers are not taking the Commodores lightly.
“Vanderbilt, like every team in the SEC, is a good football team,” Pinkel said. “Our focus is on ourselves and playing well.”
Last week against Florida, Mizzou had to prepare to face two quarterbacks: Jeff Driskel and Treon Harris.
Against Vanderbilt, Missouri will face a similar situation, with true freshman Wade Freebeck and redshirt freshman Johnny McCrary both expected to play in the game.
“You have to get a feel for the quarterbacks you think you’ll see, get a feel for what each can do and what kind of game plan you want to come up with,” Mizzou cornerbacks coach Cornell Ford said. “That helped us last week, so we’ll have the same approach this week.”
The Tigers asserted their defensive dominance early and often against Florida and compiled six turnovers for the game. It ended a streak of three consecutive games with the Tigers failing to force a turnover after their record 47-game streak snapped against Indiana.
“It’s been something in the back of our minds,” senior defensive lineman Lucas Vincent said. “That (drought) needed to stop.”
The Commodores have had a significant amount of instability at quarterback this season and have used four different players behind center, including Freebeck and McCrary.
“You have to be prepared for anything,” Pinkel said. “If there are adjustments you should make, you make them. That’s something (defensive coordinator Dave) Steckel and the defensive staff will tackle.”
Ford spoke highly of Freebeck and McCrary’s athleticism.
“Both throw the ball decent, but they’re great runners,” Ford said. “We definitely have to take that into consideration.”
Junior defensive end Shane Ray said the key to facing two quarterbacks is knowing their differences.
“You’ve got to make sure you know each guy’s tendencies, what each guy is able to do when they’re under center,” Ray said. “We’re going to get on the film on these guys and see what we have to prepare for.”
Vanderbilt has yet to have a quarterback throw for 400 yards total this season, ranking the Commodores’ pass offense last in the SEC and 116th nationally. Freebeck is the closest at 376 yards.
This is in part due to the inexperience at the position, but also due to injuries.
Sophomore Patton Robinette, who assumed the starting role during Vanderbilt’s opening week game against Temple, has been injured on and off throughout the season. The sophomore has played in just two games and is the lone Vanderbilt quarterback to not throw an interception this year. He also has an impressive completion percentage of 71.9 percent.
No matter who is taking the snaps for the Commodores, Pinkel said the Tigers are ready for the challenge and are set to avoid having another meltdown following a big win, like they did against Georgia after beating South Carolina.
“If you take the approach that you don’t care who you play or where you play, you focus on playing your best football,” Pinkel said. “I think our guys recognize that. This game is huge.”