Albert OkwuegbunamAlbert Okwuegbunam
Football

@MizzouFootball Keeps It Rollin’ With 45-17 Win at Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mizzou Football won its fifth consecutive game, toppling Vanderbilt 45-17, Saturday night at Vanderbilt Stadium. The win makes Mizzou bowl eligible, becoming just the 14th team in FBS history to start 1-5 and qualify for a bowl. Mizzou is just the second SEC team to accomplish that feat, joining the 1983 Ole Miss team.

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Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mizzou Football won its fifth consecutive game, toppling Vanderbilt 45-17, Saturday night at Vanderbilt Stadium. The win makes Mizzou bowl eligible, becoming just the 14th team in FBS history to start 1-5 and qualify for a bowl. Mizzou is just the second SEC team to accomplish that feat, joining the 1983 Ole Miss team.

Mizzou wasted no time overpowering the Commodores Saturday night, scoring a TD on its opening possession as a Drew Lock (Lee's Summit, Mo.) seven-yard pass to TE Albert Okwuegbunam (Springfield, Ill.) capped an eight-play, 71-yard drive that put Mizzou on top. That was part of a 35-0 first half (the largest for the Tigers in SEC play ever) as they kept the foot on the gas. Mizzou forced two interceptions, one a pick-six for LB Brandon Lee (Indianapolis, Ind.), and got a punt return TD from Richaud Floyd (Gulfport, Miss.) to open the large lead at the half. IT was the first time since 2014 at Florida that Mizzou had an INT return and punt return for a TD in the same game.

After Vanderbilt made it close in the third quarter, Lock hooked up with Okwuegbunam for the second TD of the night for the pass-catch duo, this one coming from 57 yards out.

Turning Point

After Vanderbilt seemingly grabbed momentum with a big fourth-down stop while trailing 14-0, Mizzou's defense came up large on the very next play. Junior strongside LB Brandon Lee (Indianapolis, Ind.) stepped in front of a Kyle Shurmur pass and picked it off. He returned it 41 yards for his first career pick and Mizzou's first pick-six since Nov. 19, 2016, to extend Mizzou's lead to 21-0. It was part of a 28-0 second quarter that favored Mizzou, putting the game out of reach.

Top Tigers

  • Senior WR J'Mon Moore moved into fourth place on Mizzou's career receiving yards list as he caught 3 passes for 78 yards, moving his career total to 2,252, the fifth-most in school history.
  • Sophomore WR/PR Richaud Floyd had a 74-yard punt return score and a 30-yard receiving TD, good for his second career game with a punt return and receiving TD (he also did so vs. Idaho).
  • Junior QB Drew Lock threw three touchdowns Saturday, moving his single-season total to 38, just two shy of passing Chase Daniel for the Mizzou single-season record (39 in 2008). He is just two shy of matching the SEC record (40 by Kentucky's Andrew Woodson in 2007).
  • Sophomore LB Cale Garrett tied a career high with a game-high 12 tackles, matching his total against Purdue and Georgia this season.

What They're Saying…

Notes

  • Mizzou has won three straight SEC games for the first time under Coach Odom.
  • Mizzou is bowl eligible for the 32nd time in school history and the first time since 2014.
  • Mizzou is the first team in the FBS to have a five-game losing streak and five-game winning streak since 1976.
  • Mizzou just the 14th team in FBS history to start 1-5 and achieve bowl eligibility; of the previous 13, all but one were invited to a bowl game.
  • Mizzou has scored 45 or more points in five consecutive games, the first time that has ever been accomplished at Mizzou.
  • Full Post-Game Notes

Up Next

Mizzou hits the road for its final contest of the regular season at Arkansas this coming Friday (Nov. 24) at 1:30 p.m. CT on CBS. For all the latest on Mizzou Football, stay tuned to mutigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouFootball) and like the team on Facebook and Instagram.