All you Need to Know about Vanderbilt Ahead of Week 4 Clash Against Missouri

The Tigers take on the Commodores in their first SEC matchup of the season.

Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (2) is tackled by Alcorn State Braves defensive back Tayvion Haney (2) during their Southeastern Athletic Conference game at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Vanderbilt Commodores will be the first SEC test of the season for No. 7 Missouri football.

Sitting at 2-1 on the season, the Commodores have both an impressive loss and forgettable defeat on their resume. In week one, they took the Virginia Tech Hokies to overtime and walked away with a victory, thanks to late game heroics from quarterback Diego Pavia.

Fast-forward two weeks later, Pavia was leading a drive at Georgia State to regain the lead with under a minute. Pavia missed his first two throws of the drive and connected on the third, but the game clock was not on Vanderbilt's side. The Commodores suffered their first loss on the road at the hands of Georgia State.

In between was a comfortable victory over Alcorn State, which allowed the Commodores to air the ball out and run up the box score. Between the three, the Commodores have developed their identity as a team, with apparent strengths and weaknesses.

Vanderbilt's Offense

Like the Tigers' two last opponentes, the best player on the Commodore offense is their quarterback, Pavia. Also like each of the past two quarterbacks Missouri faced, Vanderbilt's is dynamic on his legs. He leads his team in rushing yards through three games with 195 on 54 carries.

He's been managable in the pass game so far, but struggeled with efficiency against a Sun Belt opponent last week, finishing with a 54.5% completion percentage and 270 yards. He did put the ball in the end zone twice, both throws under 20-yards. He has 543 passing yards through three games and has yet to throw an interception. This was a similar situation to Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, whom the Tigers forced two turnovers out of.

Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (2) throws against the Alcorn State Braves during their Southeastern Athletic Conference game at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

To complement Pavia on the ground is running back Sedrick Alexander. Alexander, a former three-star recruit, has ran for 165 yards on 40 carries early on, with a team-leading three rushing touchdowns to show for it. He is still looking for some explosive games out of the backfield, with his longest run of the season only going for 13-yards.

Alexander has also picked up 39 receiving yards and a touchdown on five receptions, starting to build a connection with new quarterback Pavia.

One player who didn't waste any time connecting with Pavia is senior tight end Eli Stowers. The duo played with each other at their previous stop at New Mexico State. Pavia hit Stowers 35 times last season, with 366-yards and two touchdowns. Stowers is almost half-way to his total number of receiving yards from last year.

He has quickly become Pavia's favorite target this season, connecting with him 12 times already for 163-yards. He has only one touchdown, but is by far the receiving option that Pavia is most comftorable targeting.

The next two-leading receivers for the Commodores are Quincy Skinner Jr and Junior Sherrill. Skinner falls right behind Stowers in receiving-yard standings with 123-yards on eight receptions. Skinner also only has one touchdown. He provides Pavia with another big, physical target alongside Stowers.

Sherrill is the opposite, standing at only 5-foot-11, 172-pounds, providing a speedy option for his quarterback. He has six receptions for 87-yards, also posting a touchdown. Those three have been the only major receiving options for the Commodores, alongside the running back Alexander.

Vanderbilt's Defense

Vanderbilt has a trio of linebackers as their leading tacklers so far. The best of them has been Langston Patterson, the team's leading tackler in 2023, posting 18 early tackles on the year. Following him up is former four-star Randon Fontenette with 15.

Fontenette is a dynamic playmaker on the defensive side of the ball, playing the STAR for the Commodores. His speed and fluidity in coverage, combined with his downhill tackling, make him a perfect fit for the spot. He is arguably the most talented Commodore on defense.

Sophomore linebacker Bryan Longwell, in a similar manner to Patterson, is a great tackler. He has 15-tackles and half a sack through three games, as well as an interception.

A top fredshman defensive lineman also finds himself in the middle of the line of scrimmage for the Commodores. After recently being named PFF's third best freshman of the season so far, nose tackle Glenn Seabrooks III is slowly becoming a name that should be on the Tiger offense radar. He's yet to sack the quarterback, but has 11 total tackles to his name.

Sep 7, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores defensive lineman Glenn Seabrooks III (53) tackles Alcorn State Braves running back Brandon Rogers (23) during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Commodore secondary has some flaws, but a pair of experienced safeties highlight the group. Senior De'Ricky Wright is off to a statistically slow start, but has been good in coverage and has yet to let up any major plays. CJ Taylor, who plays alongside him, is another great coverage-safety, who hits hard too. He won't be available to play in the first half against the Tigers because of an ejection in the second half of their Georgia State matchup, a result of a targeting penalty.

By the numbers, Missouri is facing a weaker opponent than they did last week against Boston College. Stopping the Commodore offense should prove to be a bigger challenge than putting points on the board against the Commodore defense.

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

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