Three Thoughts From Missouri’s Overtime Win Over Vanderbilt

Quick takeaways from the Tigers ugly SEC-opening victory.

Sep 21, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III (3) scores a touchdown during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Missouri Tigers got a test they probably weren't expecting in their week 4 showdown with the Vanderbilt Commodores. They walked away with a 30-27 victory, but not without a fight from the Tigers first SEC opponent.

'Death Row Defense' did their job well today, posting clutch stop after clutch stop when Missouri needed it. Outside of the defense and an impressive performance from running back Nate Noel, it was hard to pin point positives from the Tigers barely-squeaked out win.

Here are three quick thoughts from Missouri's SEC-opening matchup with Vanderbilt:

Another Slow Start

The Tigers might have put seven points on the board in the first quarter, but nothing about the first half as a whole was pretty. The Missouri defense allowed a massive 65-yard touchdown to get the Commodores on the board first and missed a 24-yard field goal that would have tied the game.

Vanderbilt's first scoring drive, starting with 11 minutes left in quarter one, consisted of only four plays. By the nine minute mark, the Commodores had seven points on the board. Before the long touchdown came a eight-yard reception from quarterback Diego Pavia to running back Sedrick Alexander, a 14-yard catch to tight end Eli Stowers and a five-yard rush from Alexander. They were driving and would have been a threat to score regardless of the 65-yard bomb to receiver Joseph McVay.

A questionable decision from quarterback Brady Cook on fourth down with under 10-seconds to play, which ended with Cook getting sacked by defensive end Khordae Sydnor, gave the Commodores the opportunity to put three more points on the board, which they capitalized on. The third slow-start in a row for the Tigers significantly put them behind entering the second half.

This Tiger defense is pretty good

There is no denying that the Tiger defense did their job today. Outside of the busted-coverage touchdown the Tigers allowed in the first quarter, the Tiger defense looked stout throughout the matchup. They forced two field goals out of the Commodores and had a big redzone stop to prevent a momentum-shitfing touchdown in the first half.

To start the second half, the Commodore offense was without answers to the Tiger defensive unit. Pavia faced frequent pressure on third downs and was nearly picked off by safety Sidney Williams at the 6:49 mark in the third quarter, thanks to pressure from defensive end Joe Moore. Pavia and the Commodores barely advanced the ball on their first two drives of the second half.

Linebacker Chuck Hicks was the only played attributed with a sack for the Tigers, with Moore and linebacker Khalil Jacobs. Minus Pavia's 36-yard run in the first quarter and 18-yard carry on third down in the fourth quarter, the defensive unit did not allow Pavia to break off any large runs. The run-defense was sound as a whole, with Alexander breaking away for 31-yards, the longest of the game from him. Outside of that, the Missouri defense shut down the Commodore running game.

Though the Tiger defense held strong throughout the game, they let up too many big plays in overtime, including a brutal roughing the passer penalty. Pavia, under pressure, found a massive gap to get inside the five-yard line. They allowed a score soon after from a Commodore play-action roll out.

A final stand in overtime forced Vanderbilt kicker Brock Taylor into a 31-yard field goal, one he would miss, ending any hopes of a ranked-road upset for the Commodores.

Another impressive performance from Nate Noel

Noel was arguably the only bright spot on the Tiger offense. He broke off two of the Tigers longest offensive plays of the season so far, one of which got them to the Vanderbilt three-yard line, resulting in a score from his backfield-parter Marcus Carroll. Noel had gains of 17, 16, 32 and 64 to aid the offense.

He finished the day with 199-yards on 24 carries, leading the way for the Tiger backfield and offense as a whole. Noel broke his previous career high of 193-yards. Everytime he saw an open hole around the line of scrimmage, he hit it pretty quickly. His offensive line surely helped him out in creating those gaps, but he hit them efficiently while being able to stay on his feet.

An argument can be made that Noel should have got the ball more consistently. Even with his nigh number of carries, at times he seemed like the only productive player on the offense. Subsituing Carroll in to keep Noel fresh is reasonable, yes, but there were drives where Noel only touched the ball a few times.

The Tigers went way from Noel towards the end of the fourth quarter. It's hard to drill down why this was the case, but Noel only had nine carries in the final period of the game. Advancing the ball is one thing, but not giving the ball to arguably your best player on offense that day is another.

Noel showed against Boston College what he is capable against top-tier competition and furthered that idea this week. There is no argument that without his production, the Tiger offense would have been lost.