COLUMBIA, Mo. – Luther Burden III scored two first-half touchdowns – one receiving and one rushing – to help the Missouri Tigers (3-4, 1-3) jump out to a 17-0 halftime lead and the MU defense made it stand up for a 17-14 Homecoming victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-5, 0-4). It was Mizzou's sixth-straight Homecoming victory and ran its all-time Homecoming record to 66-40-5.
With 1:23 to play, and 3rd-and-11, Vandy tight end Ben Bresnahan caught a pass from quarterback Mike Wright that at first was ruled a first down at the MU 43-yard line. But after video review, he was ruled short of the first down and on fourth down and less than a yard to go, defensive linemen Darius Robinson and Realus George, Jr. combined to stop running back Ray Davis for no gain. Missouri then ran out the clock.
On the Tigers' first possession of the game, Brady Cook found Barrett Bannister for a 29-yard gain down the right sideline. Then, on the next play, Cook zipped a quick screen pass out to Burden along the left sideline and the freshman broke three tackles while running 35 yards to the end zone to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Cook directed a seven-play drive that covered 89 yards. More than half of it came on a 46-yard pass to Tauskie Dove who was running free on a crossing pattern. Three plays later, Burden took a reverse to the left for 10 yards and a touchdown.
Later, with the Commodores driving at the Missouri 10-yard line, safety Jaylon Carlies intercepted AJ Swann's pass intended for Will Sheppard in the end zone with 1:12 to play in the half. Cook then moved the Tigers 59 yards down the field to position Harrison Mevis for a 38-yard field goal with one second left. It was Swann's first intercepted pass of the season.
Early in the third quarter, Cook was swamped by an all-out Vanderbilt blitz at Mizzou's own 10-yard line. Vanderbilt's Anfernee Orji jarred the ball loose and C.J. Taylor recovered in the end zone for a Commodore TD.
On a blustery day that saw winds gusting out of the south at up to 30 miles per hour in the second half, moving the ball was difficult, especially against the wind. Following the Vanderbilt touchdown, the wind knocked down the Vandy kickoff and it bounced backwards at the MU 18-yard line and into the hands of a Commodore at the Tiger 21. Mizzou's defense held strong, however, and Vanderbilt's Joseph Bulovas missed a 27-yard field goal. He also missed a 45-yard attempt in the first quarter.
In the fourth quarter, kicking into the wind, Mevis missed a 36-yard field goal that would have extended the MU lead. On the next play, Wright hit Gamarion Carter with a short hitch pass and he dashed 80 yards for a touchdown to draw Vanderbilt within 17-14 with 3:59 to play.
Vanderbilt's leading receiver, Will Sheppard, who came into the game with eight receiving touchdowns on the season – was targeted 15 times, but covered mostly by Kris Abrams-Draine, he caught just three passes for 28 yards. Abrams-Draine had five tackles and broke up three passes – two of them in the end zone. In all, Mizzou defenders broke up 10 passes and held Vanderbilt to 49 percent passing.
UP NEXT
The Tigers travel next week for a SEC East matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks. Game time at Williams-Brice Stadium will be 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
