COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz hasn't spent much time thinking about getting the Tigers back into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2019.
“Rankings only matter what you do this week, so our goal was not to be ranked in Week Four,” Drinkwitz said. “Our goal is to figure out where we’re at by the end of the season. ... We’re more focused on what we can control this week, which is playing at Vandy.”
He can take a big lesson from 2019 as he takes his 23rd-ranked Tigers (4-0, 1-0) out of Missouri for the first time this season for their Southeastern Conference opener at Vanderbilt on Saturday. In 2019, then-No. 22 Missouri visited Vanderbilt and lost, starting a five-game skid that led to Barry Odom's firing.
“Obviously opening up SEC play on the road is going to be a big challenge for us,” Drinkwitz said of a team whose longest trip this season was to St. Louis last week where the Tigers beat Memphis, 34-27.
The Commodores (2-3, 0-1) are trying to snap a three-game skid by taking better care of the ball.
They rank 102nd nationally in turnover margin having lost 13 turnovers — eight of those interceptions — that opponents have turned into 37 points. That has been a big focus after a pair of pick-6s in last week's 45-28 loss to Kentucky.
“It becomes about our ability to protect the ball and our ability to play to our identity and our ability to play four quarters in a manner that makes us proud,” coach Clark Lea said. “If we can do that, we feel like we have the ability to be in a tight game, and then it's about trying to find a way to win.”
INJURY ISSUES
The Tigers’ top two players, quarterback Brady Cook and wide receiver Luther Burden III, are deemed “questionable” by Drinkwitz, but both are expected to play. The Tigers will be without wide receiver Mekhi Miller, who played the past two games with a sliced hand but has already been ruled out for Vanderbilt.
Missouri should get back offensive lineman Marcellus Johnson, who missed last week's win over Memphis with an ankle injury. Standout defensive back Ennis Rakestraw also could be back Saturday.
QB DECISION
AJ Swann ranks second in the SEC with 11 touchdown passes and 1,290 yards, and the sophomore also has thrown for three or more TDs in four of his first 12 starts. But he was pulled late in Vanderbilt's loss to Kentucky for Ken Seals, whose last start was in 2021.
Lea said Swann's health will decide who starts. No matter who starts, Vanderbilt needs better quarterback play.
“We want to be mindful of the fact that AJ's been battling through this elbow, and we want to see that he's ready to continue," he said. "And if not, we want to give the offense a chance to run through a healthy player so we can perform better offensively.”
SITUATIONAL DEFENSE
Missouri is ranked 42nd nationally in total defense this week, but the numbers take a dive in the most important parts of the game. The Tigers are 70th on third-down defense, 113th on fourth down and 120th in red-zone defense.
TOP TARGETS
Missouri ranks 30th averaging 281.8 yards passing a game, and Vanderbilt is 35th with 277.2 yards a game. Credit goes to some talented receivers. Burden is coming off a career performance with 10 catches for 177 yards and has three straight games with 100 yards or more receiving for Missouri.
Will Sheppard has six TD catches for Vanderbilt this season, tied for the FBS lead. Freshman London Humphreys leads the SEC averaging 24.9 yards per catch.
CONSTRUCTION ZONE
Vanderbilt is renovating its stadium just past each end zone, and visiting teams use a temporary locker room across a street. Cranes help hold up a portable videoboard for replays and the scoreboard.