Which Commodores are the Tigers getting?
No. 7/8 Missouri football faces Vanderbilt at 3:15 p.m. Saturday on Faurot Field, where both teams are opening their conference slate. The game will air on SEC Network.
Vandy had a promising start to the 2024 season, including a win over plenty of folks’ preseason ACC dark horse, Virginia Tech, and a shutout of former Mizzou QB Tyler Macon and Alcorn State. Then, last Saturday, the Commodores (2-1) took a hit on the road, giving up a touchdown with 15 seconds left in the game against Georgia State for a 36-32 loss.
Mizzou (3-0) will play its fourth straight game in Columbia to open this season and has the opportunity to head into its first idle week of the year with an unblemished record.
That means seeing off Vandy — a task MU coach Eli Drinkwitz has achieved in each of his four attempts with the Tigers.
More: Starting safety listed as ‘questionable’ on Missouri football’s availability report
Here’s what to know about Vanderbilt before the Tigers open their SEC slate against the Commodores on Saturday on Faurot Field.
How will Missouri football handle dynamic QB Diego Pavia?
Missouri has seen back-to-back mobile quarterbacks in Boston College’s Thomas Castellanos and Buffalo’s CJ Ogbonna.
But it hasn’t seen a player quite like Vandy’s Diego Pavia quite yet.
Sep 7, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (2) runs the ball against the Alcorn State Braves during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
The New Mexico State transfer is mobile in a very different manner to Castellanos. Drinkwitz, during his weekly radio show Tuesday, described the 6-foot, 207-pound Pavia as a “fullback playing quarterback.” He’s rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns this season.
“They’ve got a quarterback that can extend plays with his legs, but he’s also a physical runner, so he’ll get downhill pretty quickly,” Missouri defensive tackle Kristian Williams said. “He can also throw the ball up as well, so (we’ve) just got to keep on playing our game.”
Missouri’s game plan to contain Castellanos in the pocket and goad him into dangerous passes worked. Pavia, meanwhile, is much less turnover-prone. So far this season, he’s 40-of-62 (64.5%) passing with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
More than all of the above though, Pavia’s main standout trait from the tape is his unpredictability. Especially against Virginia Tech, he showed an elite ability to throw while scrambling, taking every inch he could find to get the ball downfield.
Mizzou’s plan for the QB will be an intriguing game within the game. It’s tough to contain him in the pocket, but if the Tigers do that, Pavia is still a threat. That might tempt the Tigers into rushing the QB more than against Boston College, but with someone as mobile and physical as Pavia, let the buyer beware.
New offensive staff in Music City
Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, who also has taken over defensive coordinator duties this season, is in his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater, and he has made significant changes to the team’s offensive staff ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Like Pavia, former New Mexico State coaches Jerry Kill and Tim Beck moved to Music City to join the Commodores over the offseason. Kill is in as a senior offensive advisor, and Tim Beck takes the play-calling duties for the Vandy offense.
“I think their offense is new and innovative and tough to defend,” Drinkwitz said. “They utilize their quarterback, Diego, in a lot of different ways, and he gives them a chance on every play to be explosive.”
Oct 22, 2022; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea (left) talks with Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz prior to the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
What cost Vanderbilt on the road at Georgia State?
For the sake of everyone’s precious time, let’s hope both teams clean it up by Saturday. Vanderbilt gave up more penalties than even Missouri in Week 3, getting called for nine fouls for a total of 85 yards. MU had eight for 91.
The Commodores had more problems than discipline, too. The run game was an issue, as Vanderbilt’s ball-carriers rushed 34 times for 110 yards, which is 3.2 yards per carry.
Lea, in his midweek press conference, gave a lengthy breakdown of the game-winning Georgia State drive, in which he saw a number of coverage issues, ranging from a corner hugging the flat too tight in cover-2 to a zone scheme where he didn’t see the correct leverage or depth in a one-on-one. Altogether, the Panthers went 75 yards in 59 seconds over seven plays to win the game.
Vandy’s pass defense is allowing 207.3 yards per game and 11.1 yards per completion so far this season. If Mizzou’s pass offense is going to take off, there should be opportunities against the Commodores.
More: Does Missouri football have a deep ball problem? A look inside the numbers
1 key player missing for first half, another questionable
Vanderbilt’s secondary will be without starting safety CJ Taylor — who Drinkwitz called “one of the best defenders in our league” — for the first half of the game against Missouri after he was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter of the Commodores’ last game.
Tight end Eli Stowers, another NMSU transfer who is Vandy’s leading receiver for the season with 12 catches for 163 yards, was listed as questionable on the ‘Dores’ Wednesday availability report.
Score prediction: Missouri 30, Vanderbilt 10
It’s time to reassess the preseason presumptions for each of Mizzou’s units. The defense is leaps and bounds ahead of August expectations. The offense is, so far, efficient but methodical.
Missouri should take care of business against Vanderbilt, but a runaway win requires a little more oomph out of the offense. All signs through three games suggest the Tigers have a plan and are sticking to it, though.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Scouting report, score prediction for Mizzou football vs. Vandy
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Publish date : 2024-09-19 21:08:00
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