University of Missouri
Vanderbilt
@MizzouFootball Set For Music City Matchup at Vanderbilt
10/19/2015 9:00:00 AM | Football
| Opponent | Location | Day/Time | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Vanderbilt Buy Tickets | Vanderbilt Stadium | Saturday, Oct. 24 3 p.m. | TV: SEC Network |
MIZZOU LOOKS FOR WIN AT VANDY SATURDAY PRIOR TO BYE WEEK
• The Missouri Tigers (4-3 overall, 1-3 in Southeastern Conference play), look to regroup from a heartbreaker of a 9-6 loss last Saturday at Georgia, as they head to Music City, where they will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-4, 0-3) in Nashville, Tenn. Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 3 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
• Mizzou had numerous chances to escape between the hedges with a big road win last Saturday at Georgia, but a marvelous defensive outing wasn't enough, as the Tiger offense was held to just six points in the defeat. The Tigers nearly got a pick-six on the first play of the game, when senior S Ian Simon grabbed a deflected pass at the Georgia 40-yardline and returned it just inches shy of the goalline. A big miscue on 1st and goal followed, however, with a fumbled C/QB exchange that lost two yards, which was followed by a pair of runs stopped short of the end zone by Georgia's defense. Mizzou had to settle for a 20-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. Georgia would tie the game at 3-3 in the 2nd quarter, only a few plays after Mizzou dropped an interception that would have wiped that out. Mizzou forged a 6-3 halftime lead, but a pair of short fields, one thanks to a fumbled punt return by Mizzou, helped Georgia tie the game, and eventually, win it, with a pair of field goals. The game-winner came with just 1:44 to play, and MU's ensuing possession went four-and-out to end the game. That was indicative of the night MU would face on offense, as the Tigers were held to 164 yards of offense on just 48 plays. Mizzou held the ball for only 21:05 of clock time (UGA had it for 38:55), and struggled to keep drives alive, going just 2-of-13 on third down tries.
• Vanderbilt is coming off of a hard-fought 19-10 loss Saturday at South Carolina, a game in which the Commodores held a 10-6 lead until late in the third quarter. Vandy has split its last four games, defeating Austin Peay 47-7 on Sept. 19th for their first win of the season, followed by a close 27-16 loss at #3 Ole Miss. The Commodores rebounded with a 17-13 win at Middle Tennessee, which preceded Saturday's defeat at South Carolina.
• Mizzou and Vanderbilt have played two common opponents this season, in Georgia and South Carolina. Mizzou is 1-1 against those foes, while Vanderbilt is 0-2. The Tigers defeated South Carolina in Columbia, Mo. (24-10 on Oct. 3rd), and lost at Georgia, 9-6, last Saturday, while Vanderbilt lost at home to Georgia (31-14 on Sept. 12th) and lost last Saturday at South Carolina.
MIZZOU'S DEFENSE WENT ANIMAL CONTROL ON BULLDOG OFFENSE
• Lost in the 9-6 defeat at Georgia Saturday was the absolutely stellar performance by the Tiger defense, which was on the field virtually all night. Mizzou held a potent Bulldog offense in check most all night, as UGA gained only 298 yards of offense – well below their season average of 451.3 coming into the game. The Bulldogs averaged 7.3 yards per snap coming into Saturday's game against Mizzou, but averaged only 3.9 vs. the Tiger defense, despite the fact that they held the ball for such an advantage in time of possession. Georgia ran 77 plays on the night, to only 48 for Mizzou. Georgia averaged just 2.7 yards per rush, after averaging 6.4 per rush coming in, and finished with a season-low of 120 yards on the ground (they averaged 231.5 coming in.
PINKEL SET TO COACH CAREER GAME 300
• When head coach Gary Pinkel takes the field Saturday at Vanderbilt, it will be his 300th career game as a head coach. Now in his 25th season as a head coach (15 at Mizzou, 10 at Toledo - he is the winningest coach at both schools), Pinkel joins Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer, Texas State's Dennis Franchione and Kansas State's Bill Snyder as the only active head coaches to coach more than 300 games at the FBS level.
• Pinkel is the second-winningest active head coach in college football with 190 career wins (tied with KSU's Snyder) and trailing only Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer. He is also the 19th-winningest head coach in college football history with his 190 career wins. He is the only active head coach to be the winningest head coach at two NCAA FBS schools (Mizzou, Toledo).
• The reigning SEC Coach of the Year, Pinkel enters the Vanderbilt game with a Mizzou record of 117-69 in 14 seasons, while he's 190-106-3 overall in 24 seasons.
