#CollegeKickers were the story of No. 7 Missouri’s 30-27 double-overtime escape of Vanderbilt at Memorial Stadium, good and bad on both sides, both figuring at different points to end up triumphant.
Missouri’s Blake Craig missed three field goals on the day, one from 24 yards away. But he ended up with the game-winner from 37 yards (along with makes of 54 and 23).
Vanderbilt’s Brock Taylor made from 57 at the end of the first half to give his team a 13-10 lead and was perfect on two tries when he narrowly missed from 50 with 3:10 left on what could have been the winning kick. There was nothing to suggest he would have trouble with a 31-yard attempt to tie and send the game to a third overtime.
But after Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz called a timeout to ice him, Taylor pulled his attempt badly and the Commodores suffered their second heartbreaking loss in as many weeks.
Welcome to the North End Zone Kickers Hall of Shame, Brock Taylor pic.twitter.com/o7pcsvml2W
— Mark Kim (@MarkJKim_) September 22, 2024
Clark Lea just missed on his third SEC win in his fourth season as Vanderbilt’s coach, and this would have been Vanderbilt’s sixth all-time win against a top-10 team – with the last coming in 2007 against No. 6 South Carolina. Drinkwitz just missed on what could have been a devastating loss for his team, with some of his decisions figuring prominently in the outcome.
How the Tigers survived the Commodores
Drinkwitz deserves scrutiny for a pair of fourth-down decisions, one that gave Vanderbilt three free points at the end of the first half – on a drive that should have ended with Missouri attempting a field goal – and the other that led to overtime. On that one, Missouri had a fourth-and-1 at the Vanderbilt 47. The Tigers tried unsuccessfully to draw the Commodores offsides, called timeout and punted.
Was that too much respect for a Vanderbilt defense that gave up 412 yards and 7-for-16 success on third down in regulation? Maybe. The free 57-yard field goal for Taylor at the end of the first seemed to result from a lack of fear of that defense. After not calling one of his two timeouts to give his team more time to get into field-goal range, Drinkwitz went on fourth-and-3 from his own 47, and Cook was sacked by Khordae Sydnor.
That set Vandy up for a 4-yard pass with 8 seconds left to take the lead at the break. But the Commodores couldn’t finish, even with breakout star quarterback Diego Pavia (178 yards, two touchdowns passing and 17 rushes for 84 yards) doing all he could to carry his team. An offensive pass interference call on Vandy’s Junior Sherrill in the end zone was a killer in the second overtime, ultimately leading to the missed field goal.
Missouri running back Nate Noel had a monster game – 24 carries for 199 yards – but the Tigers’ passing attack did not click for much of the day, a week after a shaky 27-21 win over Boston College. Brady Cook finished with 226 yards passing and two touchdowns, both thrown to star receiver Luther Burden III with the second tying the game in the first overtime.
What this means for Missouri and Vanderbilt
The Tigers are not playing like a College Football Playoff team right now. But they have the profile of one, in part because of an SEC conference schedule that is mild in relative terms. The Tigers miss Georgia, Texas and Tennessee this season. The big one remaining is Oct. 26 at Alabama, and as long as Missouri takes care of games it will be favored to win, a loss there can be absorbed.
But if Missouri doesn’t start playing better, trips to Texas A&M and South Carolina and a home game with Oklahoma could be problematic.
As for Vanderbilt: How the heck did you lose at Georgia State? Without that and with one more play going their way in Columbia, the Commodores would be the 4-0, ranked, toast of college football next week.
Instead, it’s a team that must recover psychologically from consecutive gut punches that have left it with an uphill climb to six wins and a bowl game. A season-opening upset of Virginia Tech brought that idea to life, but four more wins are tough to find. Ball State, Auburn, South Carolina? Kentucky?
One thing remains true: Pavia and this offense are a blast to watch and will be a pain for defensive coordinators in Saturdays to come.
(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)
