Grades from Missouri football’s 41-0 win over Vandy and a look ahead to Arkansas
The Missouri Tigers were heavy favorites for the first time all season, hosting a winless Vanderbilt team.
But MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz didn’t want his Tigers to get complacent. Similar to how he prepared for the Kentucky game — Mizzou had been on a five-game losing streak to the Wildcats — Drinkwitz reminisced on the past.
Not necessarily positive memories either.
Drinkwitz brought back headlines and images of Mizzou’s game against Vanderbilt last year, plastering them everywhere for the team to see.
Just as a quick refresher, No. 22 Mizzou was stunned at Vandy in a 21-14 loss last year. The Tigers spiraled from there, going on a long five-game losing streak that ended in Barry Odom’s firing as MU coach.
Drinkwitz wasn’t about to let his Tigers fall flat knowing that. They responded in an overwhelming 41-0 win over the Commodores, picking up their second straight win.
“It was in our lockers,” MU linebacker Nick Bolton said of the reminders. “Everybody had one. It was one of those things you see every day. I left mine in there; I didn’t move it. It was just a reminder every day that they beat us.”
Here’s a look at this week’s grades for the offense, defense and special teams, along with the play of the game.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Sarah Fuller’s kickoff: The Tigers put up highlight after highlight Saturday in their best performance of the season.
But it’s not every day history is made during a college football game. That honor goes to Fuller, who became the first woman to play in an NCAA Power Five football game. She couldn’t make it into the game more because of Mizzou’s defense, but it was an historic moment nonetheless for the goalie-turned-kicker.
GRADES
Offense: A. That was Mizzou’s best offensive performance since the LSU game, which had slowly been becoming an anomaly. The points came in droves, which was courtesy of a running game that finally saw some life.
Running back Larry Rountree III had another impressive day, running for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Badie had 107 yards receiving and a rushing touchdown. Quarterback Connor Bazelak had a great, efficient day, completing more than 80% of his passes for 318 yards.
Defense: A. Bolton said the Mizzou defense wanted a “goose egg,” and they got exactly that by shutting out Vanderbilt. The Tigers have featured some stout defensive performances — the Kentucky and South Carolina games come to mind — but Saturday was their best day of 2020.
The Tigers also forced a turnover, although there were a few times it appeared they should’ve had a few more. Overall, it was a near-flawless day from the defense.
Special teams: A-. The only blemish on Saturday was a Harrison Mevis 45-yard missed field-goal attempt, but it was a solid day for the third unit. Mevis went on to convert his next two attempts, which were from 21 and 44 yards away.
Of note, punter Grant McKinniss didn’t get to see the field because the Tigers never needed to punt. They scored on every drive except when it was the end of the half or the Mevis missed field goal. McKinniss was SEC special-teams player of the week from last game, and he didn’t even get to show off his leg.
NEXT UP
If this part seems familiar from last week, it’s because it is. Mizzou again heads into a game week prepping for Battle Line rival Arkansas. That contest was supposed to be Saturday, but was postponed because of COVID-19. Then the SEC rescheduled the Mizzou-Arkansas game to Dec. 5.
Arkansas shut down. The Hogs needed to postpone their game against Mizzou because of COVID-19 within their program. To Arkansas coach Sam Pittman’s credit, he gave Drinkwitz a heads-up on Monday morning when the roster numbers were looking iffy. Later that Monday, the SEC announced that the game was being postponed
Yes, an old friend. In what feels like somewhat delayed anticipation, Odom will make his homecoming Saturday on Faurot Field. It’ll be a little over a year since Odom was fired as MU’s top guy. He’s now the Hogs’ defensive coordinator, and has led a surprisingly pesky Arkansas defense.
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 7:25 PM.