Live Game Thread: Mizzou opens SEC play in Nashville

Missouri 38 | Vanderbilt 21

Final

First Quarter Notes

• Credit to A.J. Swann. The Vandy quarterback is a part of the pregame mosh-put and is hyped up in the offensive huddle despite not playing today.
• Will Sheppard wins Round One against KAD, getting some separation on a slant route. This matchup will be worth monitoring all game-long.
• Daylan Carnell with a great pass breakup on a third and long, forcing a punt.
• Cook finds Luther Burden III for a conversion on 3rd-and-7. Ball floated in the air and allowed Burden to run underneath it.
• Vandy defensive back CJ Taylor flies in like a missile to take down Cody Schrader, but he ends up on the wrong end of a hit stick. Schrader shrugged him off, and Taylor left the field gingerly.
• Missouri’s running backs are just bouncing off of potential tacklers on this drive.
• Cook recognizes that he has a free play on a Vandy false start, finds Theo Wease for a diving back-shoulder catch. Great read from the veteran QB.
• Somewhat surprising to see a designed run for the banged up Brady Cook, especially so early in the game.
• 6:59: Vandy brings all-out pressure, forcing Cook into an overthrown fade route to Wease. Mevis hits a 24-yard field goal to take the lead.
• Clark Lea looking to establish the run in this quarter, especially on early downs.
• Joseph Charleston called for a pass interference on a deep ball.
• McGowan is finding a fair amount of success on jet sweeps, Baker will likely adjust to that trend.
• Round Two of the Sheppard-Abrams-Draine matchup goes to KAD. He runs step-for-step with Sheppard and got enough of the ball to force an incompletion.
• 3:46: Seals strolls in for a touchdown run untouched. Commodores methodically drove down the field against the Missouri defense.
• Cook draws another offsides on Vanderbilt. But, Cam’Ron Johnson continues to be plagued by penalty issues and gives the 5 yards right back to the Commodores.
• Brady Cook slide alert!

Second Quarter Notes

• Wease with four catches and six targets in this game, all for 10+ yards. Marquis Johnson opened up space for him on that last one, which shows how much respect teams pay to his deep-ball ability.
• Brett Norfleet with his second reception as a Tiger.
• 12:41: Cook threads the needle on a slant to Burden, and Schrader then bounces a run to the outside to retake the lead from a yard-out.
• Shocker, Daylan Carnell flying from out of no where for a tackle for loss. Charleston follows that up with a takedown on third down, as the tackling appears to have improved in this quarter.
• Cook nearly finds Wease downfield, but CJ Taylor comes over to break up the pass. He was just a touch early on the pass breakup, and the referees called a pass interference on it.
• Luke Bauer with a phenomenal punt to pin Vandy inside their own 5-yard line.
• Josh Landry with a tackle for loss to put Vandy at their own one-yard line, and an offsides against the ‘Dores pins them as close to the goal line as you can possibly get.
• Freshman phenom London Humphreys with his first catch of this game.
• Ennis Rakestraw looks fully healthy on that tackle for loss and ensuing celebration.
• Cook is finding Burden on a lot of hook and stop routes. The sophomore receiver is doing a great job of recognizing where to post up between zones.
• 0:55: Wease with a season-high 85 yards receiving...and tack on a touchdown on a beautiful fade route. Cook found him in the only spot his 6-foot-2 receiver could go get it.
• Drinkwitz getting aggressive, calling a timeout for his offense with 19 seconds remaining in the half.

Third Quarter Notes

• Burden gets involved for the first time in a while, takes a screen pass for 26 yards.
• Tempo is set to hyper speed for this first Mizzou drive, although Cook is sure to slow things down when need-be.
• 10:37: Brady Cook puts the ball in the absolute only spot that could result in a touchdown and not an interception. A great diving catch from Burden puts the Tigers up by three scores. That is an NFL-caliber throw from Mr. Cook.
• Jayden Jernigan gets a hit on Seals to force an incompletion on third down. Perhaps the Tigers’ best defensive possession of the game on that three-and-out.
• Vanderbilt mounts a solid drive, and Seals find a wide-open target on a 4th down to extend it. Marvin Burks Jr. lost Sedrick Alexander on the play.
• KAD picks up his third interception of the season to halt the Commodore drive. Momentum now firmly in Mizzou’s favor.

Fourth Quarter Notes

• 12:59: Will Sheppard gets loose for a 31-yard touchdown in which he was untouched.
• 11:10: Make it two straight weeks that Cook has found Marquis Johnson for long touchdowns, this one for 44 yards. The chemistry between those two has really taken off in recent weeks, and Johnson is quickly becoming a household name.
• 9:36: Charleston lets Junior Sherrill get behind on a zone coverage for an easy score. Defense again lets someone run free.
• Cook is not moving the same as he did early in the season, but you have to respect him for still keeping some of these reads. Wonder if the offensive staff will adjust the playbook to work around his injuries.
• Credit to Seals for being able to dump the ball off whenever he feels pressure, because this D-line has been getting after him in the second half.
• Austin Firestone, a transfer from Northwestern, picks up the Tigers’ first sack of the game to essentially ice this one.
• 4:23: Deja Vu? No, just another perfectly placed ball on a corner route from Brady Cook to Luther Burden III for a score.

Pregame Updates

• Darius Robinson has not been seen on the field, did not lead the team in warm-ups as he usually does.
• Brady Cook warmed-up with a compression sleeve in his right leg but no brace. He did put the brace on later in warm-ups last week against Memphis.

Game Info

Time: 3:00 p.m. CST

Date: September 30, 2023

Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, TN

TV: SEC Network

Fan Questions:

1. Who will be the surprise star of the day?
2. How many touchdowns will Luther Burden have?
3. How many total yards will Brady Cook have in this game?
4. Who will force a turnover?
5. Who will lead the team in tackles?

Lastly, give us your score predictions and MVP for the game in the comments below!