Game 4: Vanderbilt (2-1, 0-0 SEC) at No. 7/8 Missouri (3-0, 0-0 SEC)
When: Saturday, Sept. 21 • 3:15 p.m. CT
Where: Faurot Field • Columbia, Mo.
Watch: SEC Network (Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb and Alyssa Lang)
Listen: 102.5 The Game (Andrew Allegretta, Norman Jordan and Kevin Ingram)
Next Up
• Vanderbilt opens conference play on the road at No. 7/8 Missouri on Saturday with the action airing on SEC Network.
• Saturday’s contest will mark the 17th meeting all-time between the Commodores and Tigers with Missouri leading the series 11-4-1.
• Vanderbilt’s last win in the series came in Nashville in 2019.
• With Missouri entering the weekend ranked top-10 in both polls, Vanderbilt will be facing its eighth top-10 opponent under head coach Clark Lea (since 2021).
Last Time Out
• The Dores dropped a nail-biter at Georgia State on Saturday, falling 36-32 after a late touchdown by the Panthers in Atlanta.
• Trailing by two scores late in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt posted back-to-back touchdowns in 1:15 to take its first lead before GSU’s game-winning drive.
• Diego Pavia threw for a season-high 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Eli Stowers hauled in nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.
• After an interception by Bryan Longwell, Vandy’s defensive unit has made at least one interception in eight of the last nine contests dating back to last season.
Week 2 Shutout
• Vanderbilt blanked Alcorn State 55-0 on Sept. 7 to move to 2-0 on the season. It was Clark Lea’s third career shutout as a defensive coordinator and first since his 2020 Notre Dame defense held South Florida scoreless.
• The 55 points scored were the most since a 63-10 win at Hawai’i to open the 2022 season.
• The defensive unit held Alcorn State to just 71 total yards. The last time Vandy held its opponent to under 100 yards was against Chattanooga in 2003, with the Mocs generating just 93 yards.
• Vanderbilt held the Braves to just 40 rushing yards after holding Virginia Tech to 75 rushing yards, marking the first time since 2017 that Vandy limited its opponent under 100 rushing yards in back-to-back games (at Middle Tennessee and against Alabama A&M).
• Vandy’s offense closed the first half with a field goal, giving the Commodores a score on all five possessions in the first half.
• The win was the largest margin of victory since Vandy defeated Presbyterian 58-0 on Sept. 17, 2012.
Special Plays, Special Players
• In the win over Alcorn State, Martel Hight became the first Dore with 100-plus punt return yards since Jonathan Krause on Nov. 24, 2012 at Wake Forest (110 yards). Hight’s punt return for a touchdown was the first since Krause’s in that contest.
• Hight is now the first Commodore to have 100-plus punt return yards in a season since the 2019 campaign, reaching the mark in just two games.
• Jesse Mirco totaled 111 yards on just two punts in the win over Alcorn State and is averaging 44.8 yards per punt on the season. Mirco’s 69-yard punt vs. Alcorn State is tied for the sixth longest punt in FBS this season.
• Brock Taylor is 5-for-6 on field goals this season with three of those makes coming from 40 or more yards out.
• Vanderbilt’s special teams efficiency of 68.8 ranks 29th among FBS programs according to ESPN’s FPI.
Week 1 Thriller
• Diego Pavia accounted for three touchdowns and posted 294 total yards of offense to lead Vanderbilt to a 34-27 win over Virginia Tech in overtime to open the 2024 season.
• The Commodores have won three consecutive season openers as Vanderbilt collected its first victory over a team receiving votes since Nov. 12, 2022, when the Dores knocked off RV/24 Kentucky at Kroger Field.
• Vandy scored on its first three offensive possessions to take a 17-0 lead. It marked the first time since 2017 that the Dores scored on their first three possessions to open a campaign.
• The win was Vandy’s first overtime contest under head coach Clark Lea.
Dual Threats
• Vanderbilt’s quarterbacks have a combined 271 rushing yards through the first three games.
• Nate Johnson’s 56 yard rush vs. Alcorn State is the third longest by a Power 4 quarterback this season, per Pro Football Focus.
• With Diego Pavia’s long rush on the season checking in at 27 yards, Vanderbilt is one of only three schools in FBS (Notre Dame, Old Dominion) with multiple quarterbacks to record a rush of at least 25 yards.
