Mizzou RB Nate Noel breaks a long run during Saturday’s SEC Football game versus Vanderbilt at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

NCAA Football1st2nd3rd4thOT1OT2Final
Vanderbilt (2-2, 0-1)76707027
#7 Missouri (4-0, 1-0)731007330

COLUMBIA, MO — Something about something just didn’t seem right about Saturday’s Southeastern Conference football opener at Faurot Field, between Vanderbilt and Missouri.

Before the game, it started raining — nobody knew it was going to rain — and the wet everything seemed to drench everybody’s energy.

Mizzou came into the game ranked No. 7 in the country, but hadn’t really played up to that level in its three wins over Murray State, Buffalo, and Boston College.

This week, head coach Eli Drinkwitz talked often about how he wanted to see his team ‘clean up’ its mistakes from earlier.

The Tigers didn’t really do that. But they did do just enough to come away with a 30-27 double-overtime win that will send Mizzou into its bye week with a 4-0 record and a chance to work on some things that need fixing.

“We’re going to use [the bye week] to get better,” Drinkwitz said. “We need to get a lot better, and that is what the focus is going to be, getting better.”

Teammates celebrate with Chuck Hicks (30) after he made a quarterback sack during the second quarter of Mizzou’s NCAA Football game against Vanderbilt on Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

Things weren’t all negative for Missouri.

First off, the Tigers did win the game. Running back Nate Noel had his best game as a Tiger.

The senior transfer from Appalachian State carried the ball 24 times for 199 yards and was a key factor in setting up both of Mizzou’s regulation-time touchdowns.

Wideout Luther Burden III caught six passes for 76 yards and scored two touchdowns, including a 25-yarder on Mizzou’s first offensive play of the first overtime, that along with the extra-point, tied the game at 27.

Mizzou kicker Blake Craig, who missed three field goal attempts in the game, connected on a 37-yarder in the second overtime to give the Tigers a 30-27 lead.

Vanderbilt moved the ball to Missouri’s 13-yard line and attempted a 31-yard field goal that could’ve tied the game and forced a third overtime. But Vandy kicker Brock Taylor’s attempt sailed wide left to end the game and set off a wild celebration on the field, as the Mizzou players knew they had dodged a bullet.

“It takes winning small margins to win a tough game on the road against a tough opponent,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said. “(I’m) disappointed in the result, but I believe in my team. I’m excited to continue on the journey and to and to go look for more.”

The Commodores pushed Mizzou to the brink, thanks in large part to the play of quarterback Diego Pavia, who threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns, and also led his team in rushing with 84 yards. He had several long scramble runs, where it seemed like the Missouri defense had him bottled up, but Pavia managed to escape and keep his team’s offense moving forward.

“Yeah, that was a big thing,” Mizzou defensive tackle Chris McClellan said. “We practiced and focused about this week. Man, we knew he was going to be a very tough guy… He’s a great player, but we just take advantage of what we see.”

Pavia helped put Vanderbilt on the board first, when he hit Joseph McVay for a 65-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Missouri answered on the next possession, when it drove 76 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 20-yard touchdown from Brady Cook to Burden.

Mizzou’s Luther Burden III heads toward the end zone for a first quarter touchdown during Saturday’s NCAA Football game against Vanderbilt at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

Vanderbilt re-took the lead on its next possession, when Taylor hit a 27-yard field goal to make the score 10-7.

Missouri tied the game late in the first half, after stalling on a drive that reached Vanderbilt’s 5-yard line. The Tigers settled for a 23-yard field goal by Craig to make it 10-10.

It seemed like that would be the score heading into halftime, but the Tigers were stopped on a 4th down play near midfield. That gave Vanderbilt good field position with 8 seconds left in the half.

The Commodores completed a short pass, then sent Taylor out to attempt a school-record 57-yard field goal, which he nailed to give Vanderbilt a 13-10 lead at halftime.

“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.”

Mizzou defenders try to block a field goal attempt during Saturday’s NCAA Football game against Vanderbilt. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

Missouri seemed to take control early in the third quarter, when it came out and got a 55-yard field goal from Craig on its first possession to tie the game, then took its first lead of the day on its next possession when Noel broke free for a 64-yard run that put the ball at Vandy’s 3-yard line.

Carroll finished the drive off with a 3-yard burst up the middle that put Mizzou ahead 20-13.

Vanderbilt responded just before the end of the third quarter, when it drove 80 yards on nine plays, and scored on a 4-yard touchdown run by AJ Newberry.

Both teams kickers missed field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, which set the stage for the dramatic overtime periods that ended with Missouri winning the game, even if their coach and players weren’t particularly happy about how they played.

“Just really proud of the grit our team showed,” Drinkwitz said. “Faced a lot of self-inflicted wounds and adversity, but didn’t flinch. Especially proud of the defense for keep coming back out there. It’s great to be 4-0, it’s as good as we can be.”

Mizzou’s RB Nate Noel carried the ball 24 times for 199 yards in the Tigers’ double-overtime win over Vanderbilt on Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

As mentioned above, Mizzou (4-0) is off next week and won’t return to the field until October 5, when the Tigers will travel to College Station, Texas, to take on Texas A&M.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Drinkwitz said. “So we’re not even really thinking about Texas A&M. We’re concentrating on what the Missouri Tigers need to do to get better.”

SCORING SUMMARY

QtrTimeScoring PlayVANMIZ
1st09:06VAN – McVay, Joseph 65 yd pass from Pavia, Diego (Taylor, Brock kick) 4 plays, 92 yards, TOP 01:5570
1st03:51MIZ – Burden, Luther 20 yd pass from Cook, Brady (Craig, Blake kick) 10 plays, 76 yards, TOP 05:0677
2nd13:27VAN – Taylor, Brock 27 yd field goal 10 plays, 66 yards, TOP 05:24107
2nd01:17MIZ – Craig, Blake 23 yd field goal 9 plays, 47 yards, TOP 03:061010
2nd00:00VAN – Taylor, Brock 57 yd field goal 2 plays, 4 yards, TOP 00:081310
3rd10:58MIZ – Craig, Blake 54 yd field goal 9 plays, 21 yards, TOP 03:561313
3rd08:18MIZ – Carroll, Marcus 3 yd run (Craig, Blake kick), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:031320
3rd00:21VAN – Newberry, AJ 4 yd run (Taylor, Brock kick), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 05:082020
OT100:00VAN – Fisher, Gabe 2 yd pass from Pavia, Diego (Taylor, Brock kick) 4 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:002720
OT100:00MIZ – Burden, Luther 25 yd pass from Cook, Brady (Craig, Blake kick) 1 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:002727
OT200:00MIZ – Craig, Blake 37 yd field goal 4 plays, 5 yards, TOP 00:002730

MISSOURI TIGERS 2024 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DateTimeAtOpponentLocationTVRadio
October 5, 2024 (Saturday)11 AMAwayTexas A&MCollege Station, TexasTiger Radio Network
October 12, 2024 (Saturday)TBAAwayUMassAmherst, Mass.Tiger Radio Network
October 19, 2024 (Saturday)TBAHomeAuburnColumbia, Mo. / Faurot FieldTiger Radio Network
October 26, 2024 (Saturday)TBAAway#4 AlabamaTuscaloosa, Ala.Tiger Radio Network
November 9, 2024 (Saturday)TBAHome#15 OklahomaColumbia, Mo. / Faurot FieldTiger Radio Network
November 16, 2024 (Saturday)TBAAwaySouth CarolinaColumbia, S.C.Tiger Radio Network
November 23, 2024 (Saturday)TBAAwayMississippi StateStarkville, Miss.Tiger Radio Network
November 30, 2024 (Saturday)TBAHomeArkansasColumbia, Mo. / Faurot FieldTiger Radio Network