Tigers survive surprise attempt against Vanderbilt with 30:27 in double overtime thriller

In a season plagued by slow starts, today was no different for the No. 7 Missouri Tigers, as a big play fueled by a coverage bust silenced Faurot Field for the second straight game. The Tigers survived a double-overtime thriller, 30-27.

Missouri's coaching staff indicated they would take a different approach when it comes to a mobile quarterback, as they were assigned Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia this week. The plan was to pressure Pavia and see how he would respond, and Pavia took that personally, weaving through the pressure and throwing a 60-yard touchdown to Joseph McVay — who is no relation to Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay — that gave Vanderbilt a stunning 7-0 lead.

Later in the game, Pavia missed a completely open pass from Quincy Skinner that would have made the coverage bust fiasco even worse for the Tigers. Instead, the play ended a short-lived Commodores drive.

Pavia followed the big-play-fueled drive with a 36-yard run, dressing up as a ballet dancer and tiptoeing along the sideline for most of the run, to set up a Vanderbilt field goal. Pavia finished the first half with 137 total yards and a touchdown. Unlike last week's opposing signal-caller, Pavia's positive performances didn't stop after the halftime whistle.

In a situation where most underdogs would give up after a quick four-play run by the Tigers, Pavia buckled his team down and led them on a decisive eight-play, 80-yard run that tied the score at 20-20 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter. The New Mexico State transfer seemed to have one more shot at it when he pressured the Commodores late in the fourth quarter and ran out the clock, but a pass breakup by Chris McLellan led to a missed 49-yard field goal by Vanderbilt's Brock Taylor.

Offensively, the Tigers came out with a quick three-and-out, but responded to the Commodores' big play with a crisp 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 20-yard catch-and-run score by Luther Burden III to tie the game. The reliance on the running game has been evident this season, and today was no different, as Nate Noel was a big playmaker throughout the first half. Noel finished the first half with 12 carries for 92 yards.

Noel continued his big day in the second half with a 64-yard run for a touchdown, proving his worth as the most consistent player in this offense. The consistency proved to be crucial in the closing stages of the fourth quarter

A catalyst for Mizzou's ability to score in this game was their strength on third down in the game, where they scored key drive extension plays regardless of distance. The Tigers finished the game

Missed opportunities characterized the Tigers' game. A missed field goal attempt by Blake Craig capped a 13-play, 91-yard drive in the first half and a nine-play, 39-yard drive in the second half that cost six points. As if there couldn't be more points, Craig missed a 47-yard throw with 7:06 left, bringing his total to nine, just a week after being named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Boston College.

Red zone issues have been a major focus for head coach Eli Drinkwitz, and today's game was a reminder of why, as the Tigers scored two of their four red zone touchdowns in this game.

To make matters worse, the “swing eight” — the final four minutes of the second half and the first four minutes of the second half — ended on a rough note when Burden dropped a long ball from Brady Cook that would have given the Tigers a field goal. Two plays later, Cook was sacked on a puzzling 4th-and-3 attempt inside Tiger territory, allowing the Commodores a field goal that gave them a 13-10 halftime lead.

One constant in college football is that coaches look for improvement, and the Tigers have had little to none in any area. Red zone woes, massive coverage busts, dual-threat quarterback getting his way – you could basically copy and paste last week's report and seamlessly fit it into this week.

Then came the boos. A missed throw by Cook on third down, ending another promising drive, sparked a flurry of uncomfortable reactions from Tiger fans, a situation that brings back a sense of déjà vu from last season, when Cook was booed before the game against Kansas State and reacted violently. Blake Craig sank a 55-yard field goal right afterward, and (again) all eyes were on Cook to see his reaction to the inconvenience.

Cook completed 8/14 passes for 89 yards after the boos and the offense scored 20 points in a game that saw the crowd grow increasingly restless as the clock ticked down. That restlessness was contained, however, and quickly returned when Cook hit Wease for a big gain and then was sacked after setting up the previously mentioned missed field goal by Craig.

Drinkwitz's team had a chance to learn from its plethora of problems by regaining possession with 3:06 left in the game and a chance to leave Faurot Field with a win. After a few plays, the Tigers found themselves in a game-winning situation with a fourth-and-1 at the Vanderbilt 47-yard line with just under a minute left in the game.

After attempting to draw the Commodores offside with a hard count, the Tigers elected to punt, avoiding a similar situation to the one that led to Vanderbilt taking a halftime lead. Drinkwitz's safe play proved to be a sure thing, as the Commodores ran out the rest of the clock and the game went into overtime. The first overtime game for the Tigers since week four of 2022, when Nathaniel Peat fumbled the ball for a touchback on the road against Auburn.

Missouri won the overtime coin toss because they had chosen to play defense first, so their offense knew what it needed to win. A questionable call for roughing the passer was followed by a spectacular run up the middle by Pavia that put the Commodores in great scoring position. Pavia ran with fullback Gabe Fisher for two yards, meaning the Tigers needed a touchdown to stay in the game.

Cook found LB3 for a 25-yard touchdown on the first play of Missouri's possession, reinvigorating the crowd and putting the ball back in the hands of the Tiger offense for the second overtime. An ambitious deep drive to double coverage was incomplete for Cook, leading to a field goal by Craig that gave the Commodores a chance to win the game with a touchdown.

Pavia had a chance to win the game but was stopped on a first down, and then Toriano Pride Jr. drew offensive pass interference to allow Vanderbilt a second-and-28 attempt from the 30-yard line. After a 17-yard pickup by Pavia, the Tigers intercepted Pavia's pass on third-and-11, forcing a 30-yard field goal attempt by Taylor.

Taylor missed the field goal attempt wide left, so the Tigers were able to pull off a major upset attempt but still have a lot of work to do before their week off.

Missouri totaled 442 yards of offense, but 188 of those yards came on non-scoring drives. Vanderbilt totaled 324 yards of offense, but had a 60% success rate in the red zone, according to GameonPaper, while the Tigers only managed 31%. Success rate almost made the difference in this game, but the Tigers prevailed thanks to some luck and great defensive stops.

Next up for the Tigers is the increasingly challenging off week, and then they'll begin their first road trip of the season. They'll travel to College Station to face the Texas A&M Aggies on October 5. Kyle Field is expected to be a wild atmosphere.