Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea texted a request to Missouri counterpart Eli Drinkwitz earlier this season.
His ask: Could the Tigers stop scoring so much?
On Saturday, Lea and his players will have a direct say on the matter as the 10th-ranked Commodores host the No. 15 Tigers in a Southeastern Conference showdown in Nashville.
A sellout crowd is expected at FirstBank Stadium and the contest has attracted the attention of ESPN’s “College GameDay” pregame broadcast.
“We’ve created a great platform for the program,” Lea said.
Vanderbilt (6-1, 2-1 SEC) continues to climb the rankings and expand its profile behind versatile quarterback Diego Pavia, a Heisman hopeful who rushed for two scores and passed for another during last week’s 31-24 win against then-No. 10 LSU.
A New Mexico State transfer, Pavia has passed for 15 touchdowns, just five fewer than his debut season with the Commodores in 2024, while averaging a career-best 8.6 yards per attempt.
He also has stayed clean, getting sacked five times in 183 dropbacks compared with 18 in 298 last season.
Vanderbilt also ranks fourth in FBS with 6.3 yards per carry.
“I do think we have the best tackles in the SEC and the country,” Vanderbilt offensive lineman Cade McConnell said.
Missouri (6-1, 2-1) is eyeing its first road win against a Top 10 foe since beating seventh-ranked Georgia on Oct. 12, 2013.
Saturday marks the first time the two programs have met as ranked teams.
The Tigers are trending upward, too, following a narrow home loss to Alabama on Oct. 11. Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula showed poise in his first career road start the next week at Auburn, rushing for a 3-yard touchdown in double-overtime to key a 23-17 victory.
Pribula overcame two interceptions and three sacks by completing 23 of 40 passes for 252 yards.
Despite a less than stellar showing from its runners at Auburn — 91 yards on 44 carries — the Tigers rank seventh in FBS with 245 yards on the ground per game. Ahmad Hardy led the way with a pair of touchdowns last week but gained just 58 yards on 24 carries.
“We looked timid,” Drinkwitz said. “We looked like we weren’t sure why we were running certain plays.”
Defensive end Zion Young registered two sacks and 2 1/2 tackles for loss at Auburn, earning conference co-defensive lineman of the week honors. He’ll help lead the effort to keep Pavia contained.
Relatively speaking, anyway.
Drinkwitz said that while mobile quarterbacks are trending upward in college football, “I don’t know that any of them are as good at the improvisation as Diego. … He’s a magician back there.”
Missouri stretched its series winning streak against Vanderbilt to five games with last season’s 30-27 home victory in two overtimes. The Tigers are 12-4-1 against the Commodores all-time.
