Vanderbilt @ Missouri preview
Faurot Field
Missouri's introduction to the Southeastern Conference has not been pleasant, as it has lost its first two league games to top-10 teams. But the Tigers will have a rare opportunity to play a conference game as a favorite when they host Vanderbilt in an SEC East matchup Saturday night - the first meeting between the new conference rivals since 1958. The Commodores also have faced a brutal early-season schedule, with all three of their losses coming against undefeated teams - Georgia, South Carolina and Northwestern.
Finishing strong has been an issue for both teams. The Commodores coughed up fourth-quarter leads against South Carolina and Northwestern, but they were never close in their 48-3 loss at Georgia two weeks ago. The Tigers have experienced much of the same, fading in the second half against the Bulldogs and Gamecocks, but they were able to hold on for a quality win at Central Florida last week. Missouri quarterback James Franklin - not to be confused with the Vanderbilt head coach by the same name - has been nursing a shoulder injury all season but should be close to 100 percent Saturday. Missouri has won 36 of its last 43 home games
TV: 7 p.m. ET. LINE: Missouri -7.5
ABOUT VANDERBILT (1-3, 0-2 SEC): The defense that kept the Commodores in close losses to South Carolina (17-13) and Northwestern (23-13) didn't show up against Georgia, as the Bulldogs piled up 567 total yards. Aside from a 58-0 win over Presbyterian, the offense has been unimpressive, too, but the Commodores do have some capable players on that side of the ball. Senior quarterback Jordan Rodgers has a dangerous receiving duo in Jordan Matthews (26 catches, 395 yards) and Chris Boyd (15 catches, 285 yards) and a versatile back in Zac Stacy (341 yards, 1 TD).
ABOUT MISSOURI (3-2, 0-2 SEC): Aside from a 62-10 season-opening win over Southeastern Louisiana, the Tigers haven't made anything look easy. Their other two wins have come by a combined nine points at home against Arizona State (24-20) and at Central Florida (21-16). Missouri's offense has not lived up to its lofty expectations, averaging 348.4 yards per game, but the defense has been stronger than expected. The Tigers rank 30th in the nation in total defense (333.0 yards per game) despite a difficult schedule. The running game got going in the second half last week, as Kendial Lawrence gained 101 of his 104 yards after halftime.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Missouri has forced at least one turnover in 23 consecutive games dating to Oct. 30, 2010. The Tigers' nine fumble recoveries are tied with Louisiana Tech for the most in the nation.
2. Vanderbilt's Stacy ranks third on the school's all-time rushing list with 2,343 yards. He needs 147 yards to match Carl Woods for second and is 291 yards behind all-time leader Frank Mordica. Stacy's 21 rushing touchdowns are fourth all-time behind Dean Davidson (26), Marcus Wilson (24) and Charley Horton (22).
3. Missouri's Marcus Murphy, the reigning SEC Special Teams Player of the Week, has three punt return touchdowns this season. That's a single-season school record and matches Jeremy Maclin for the career mark.
PREDICTION: Missouri 23, Vanderbilt 20