The Missouri Tigers and the Vanderbilt Commodores meet Saturday in college football action from FirstBank Stadium. Here’s a Vanderbilt vs Missouri prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Vanderbilt vs Missouri pick.
Missouri Tigers Betting Preview
The Tigers opened up the season on a pretty nice run, bagging wins in each of their first five outings. Missouri took out Central Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, South Carolina and UMass in that quintet. In their home game versus Alabama on October 11 however, the Tigers ended up taking their first loss of the season. Missouri scored in all four quarters—but also gave up points in all four quarters—during a 27-24 loss. The 1-of-10 success rate on third downs didn’t help the cause, nor did the two interceptions for Missouri’s offense.
In last weekend’s “Tiger Game” versus Auburn, Missouri was down 14-10 heading into the fourth quarter but ended up forcing two overtime periods in an eventual road win 23-17. Beau Pribula threw for 252 yards and two picks on 23-of-40 passing while also rushing for a score. Tops in rushing was Ahmad Hardy with 24 totes for 58 yards and a pair of scores. Donovan Olugbode caught five balls for 69 yards in the tense victory to lead the receiving efforts.
Vanderbilt Commodores Betting Preview
Over on the Commodores’ side, they also opened up the season with five straight wins—all of them by quite sizable margins. Vanderbilt took out Charleston Southern, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Georgia State and Utah State in that time. Game six on the road versus Alabama was a tricky one however, and the Commodores ended up falling 30-14 by the final horn. Vanderbilt posted 333 yards on offense with 6.2 yards per play but also had just 16 first downs, 5-of-11 on third downs and a couple of turnovers. The Commodores defense gave up 486 yards, 7.0 yards per play and 26 first downs on the other side in the losing effort.
Matched up against LSU last weekend, the Commodores were in for a fight, entering the second half with a slim 17-13 lead. After 14 points in the third quarter Vanderbilt would eventually emerge with a 31-24 victory at home. QB Diego Pavia went 14-of-22 for 160 yards and a touchdown while also leading the team in rushing with 17 carries for 86 yards and two more scores. Cole Spence topped the team in receiving with five grabs for 56 yards and a touchdown in the big victory effort.
Missouri Tigers @ Vanderbilt Commodores Betting Trends: Week 9
Vanderbilt Commodores Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 9, Bryce Cowan leads the Southeastern Conference for forced fumbles (2) this season.
Missouri Tigers Player Prop Facts
- Ahmad Hardy has recorded 50+ rushing yards in 16 consecutive games – longest streak in the FBS, heading into Week 9.
Matchup/League Facts
- Vanderbilt ranks 2nd among FBS teams for 3rd down conversion percentage this season (55.7).
- Vanderbilt ranks T4th among FBS teams for average point differential in third quarters this season (+7.4).
- Missouri has recorded the equal-most home wins by a margin of 30+ points of any FBS team this season (3).
- Missouri has recorded the equal-most home wins by a margin of 35+ points of any FBS team this season (3).
Vanderbilt vs Missouri Prediction
I’ll go with Vanderbilt, but you could certainly make a case either way. This should be one of the highlights of the weekend slate. The Commodores looked great in a tough game last weekend versus LSU, notching 399 offensive yards (239 rushing) and 20 first downs with no turnovers. The defense allowed just 14 first downs and held the Tigers to 5-of-11 on third-down conversion attempts. It was a nice bounce-back effort after a 16-point road loss to a great Alabama team, but Vanderbilt can’t underestimate this matchup. This is only the third game in a tough quartet; Texas is looming on November 1. The good news is that Vanderbilt is cooking offensively. They’ve hit 31 or more points in six of their seven games so far this year.
As for Missouri, they eked by with a road win versus a plucky Auburn team last weekend despite two interceptions, 91 rushing yards and 4.1 yards per play. The defense was pretty good overall though, giving up just 19 first downs and 6-of-16 on third-down tries. Missouri is scoring quite well this season themselves, so this game could go a lot of different ways. In the end I like Vanderbilt to power one out but it’s obviously something of a coin flip. It’ll be a great game regardless.