COLUMBIA, Ill. — Vanderbilt and Missouri both got wake-up calls last week, albeit much different ones.
The Commodores got the worst kind: one that ended with a loss on a last-minute touchdown by Georgia State, preventing them from getting off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2017, long before coach Clark Lea arrived.
Seventh-ranked Missouri got the best kind, one in which the Tigers were tested by then-No. 24 Boston College, won the game and came away with plenty of ways to get better as they jump into SEC play against Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Tops on the list of issues for the Tigers (3-0) to address this week was a deficiency of discipline. They were flagged three times for unsportsmanlike conduct against Boston College, and standout wide receiver Luther Burden III had one of them along with an unnecessary roughness penalty that resulted in coach Eli Drinkwitz giving him a dose of sideline discipline.
Missouri is tied for 115th out of 132 teams in the Bowl Subdivision in penalties per game.
“I challenged our staff and our players to put your feelings in a box,” Drinkwitz said. "The lack of discipline is a result of the lack of accountability, and there’s going to be accountability. No different than they caught me on tape getting on Luther between the third and fourth quarter. He deserved every bit of that, and he understood it. ...
“The team’s mission is way more important than anybody’s individual hurt feelings,” Drinkwitz added. "So, put your feelings in a box, put your big boy pants on, take accountability for the things that we have to improve on.”
For the Commodores, the lesson this week was about meeting expectations. They were soaring after opening the season with a win over Virginia Tech and another over Alcorn State, and many expected them to take care of Georgia State last weekend.
Instead, the Panthers survived after blowing a 12-point fourth-quarter lead by scoring with 15 seconds left for a 36-32 victory.
“We’re still learning and growing in this process-oriented approach to winning and to the season, and I think we maybe punched beyond expectations early,” Lea said. “Not internal expectations, but external. And that’s fine. We can’t allow external perception to drive anything that we do. But I think sometimes you can get distracted by your own success.
“And again, we have a good team,” Lea said, "but we’re not good enough to play a distracted game.”
Not against Georgia State. And almost certainly not against Missouri on Saturday.
“I think Eli’s done a great job there building a program that has become kind of one of the standard bearers in our conference and a program that’s obviously garnered national attention,” Lea said. "So great challenge for us. A great opportunity for us.”
Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia arrived from New Mexico State as a graduate transfer along with his coach, Jerry Kill, and offensive coordinator, Tim Beck. They've provided a big boost to the Commodores’ offense. Pavia mostly relied on his legs in their first two games, but he threw for a season-high 270 yards and two touchdowns last week.
Missouri has faced three straight dual-threat quarterbacks to start the season, including Boston College star Thomas Castellanos last week. While they have fared well against each of them, Pavia provides a different sort of running threat.
“He's more physical. Downhill,” Drinkwitz said. “He will lower his shoulder and take on defenders.”
Vanderbilt captain C.J. Taylor will miss the first half Saturday after he was ejected for targeting in the loss to Georgia State. The senior defensive back began the season on the Bednarik Award watch list.
Missouri has been unable to produce many big plays on offense this season, instead relying on long, time-consuming drives. One of the reasons has been the protection of quarterback Brady Cook, who was pressured eight times by Boston College.
“I don't think we've scratched what this offense can do. I really don't think we have,” Cook said. “Obviously we all know it: We haven't had as many explosive plays as we should, and it starts with me. It really starts in practice.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
