COLUMBIA, Mo. — Vanderbilt’s offense could never get into gear Saturday on an otherwise historic day at Memorial Stadium, where the Commodores lost 41-0 to Missouri.
Sarah Fuller, a senior and keeper on the Vanderbilt soccer team, took the opening kickoff of the second half to become the first woman to ever play in a Southeastern Conference and Power 5 Conference football game.
Fuller and her teammates, however, could not keep pace with a Missouri offense that totaled 603 yards. The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead early and never looked back from there.
Vandy (0-8, 0-8 SEC) travels to Georgia (5-2, 5-2 SEC) next week. Kickoff for that contest has yet to be announced.
Vanderbilt got off to a tough start when it went for a 4th-and-1 on its own 44 and was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. Missouri went the other direction quickly by going 44 yards on six plays to take a 7-0 lead on a Larry Rountree 7-yard touchdown run.
Vandy’s defense held Missouri to a 45-yard field goal attempt later in the first quarter, which hit off the upright to keep it a 7-0 game.
That’s where the score would stay until midway through the second quarter when Rountree found pay dirt again – another 7-yard scoring run capped off a nine-play, 82-yard drive. The Tigers had a 14-0 lead with 7:51 to go in the first half.
The Tigers (4-3, 4-3 SEC) added to that lead with 1:08 on the clock before the break. After Tyler Badie was ruled short of the goal line on a 28-yard reception, the running back punched it in a play later to make it 21-0.
Vandy was held to just 93 yards of total offense in the first half, was 2 of 8 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down. Missouri, meanwhile, racked up 325 yards of offense.
After Fuller made history to start the half with a kickoff that traveled 30 yards, Missouri had a 62-yard drive stall at the 3. Harrison Mevis came out and split the uprights on a 21-yard field goal to up the Tigers’ lead to 24-0.
Mevis added a 44-yard field goal with 3:31 left in the third period making it 27-0.
Rountree’s 25-yard touchdown run to begin the fourth made it 34-0. Damon Hazelton scored on a 25-yard pass from Brady Cook with 6:46 to go providing the final margin.
Rountree finished with 160 yards on the ground for Missouri.
