Missouri hosts Vanderbilt following landmark victory
After an 0-4 start that included heartbreaking last-second losses to South Carolina and Kentucky, Missouri finally notched its first conference win of the season, knocking off then 13th-ranked Florida 38-17 last Saturday.
The decisive win marked not only the Tigers’ first 2018 victory in Southeastern Conference play, but also the first win against a ranked opponent for head coach Barry Odom, who took the reins of his alma mater at the start of 2016.
It was also quarterback Drew Lock’s first victory against a ranked team after going 0-9 against previous top-25 opponents.
Despite the milestone, Odom was quick to dismiss the superlatives, instead shifting his focus toward defeating Vanderbilt Saturday and becoming bowl-eligible.
“The message in these walls has stayed very consistent,” Odom said Tuesday. “It was a good win against, I think, a good opponent. Now, let’s get onto the next one…The number of times that Mizzou has beaten a ranked opponent, away from home, and all that, I saw all that stuff and I put it away. I didn’t want to listen to, I didn’t want to see it, and I didn’t want our guys to.”
At 5-4, Missouri needs only one more win to reach bowl eligibility. Its three remaining opponents — Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Arkansas — have a combined record of 10-17, making the prospect of back-to-back bowl appearances for the Tigers seem all the more plausible.
“They want to win,” Odom said. “That’s the standard. It’s what, ultimately, we’re judge on. Every time that we line up, over the next two Saturdays and a Friday, we want to win the game, so the hunger will be there. I would assure you of that.”
Vanderbilt is fresh off its bye week, but defeated Arkansas 45-31 the week before, earning its first SEC win of the season.
Commodore quarterback Kyle Shurmur is the undisputed leader of Vanderbilt’s offense, ranking fifth in the SEC in passing yards with 2,037. Now a senior, Shurmur earned the starting job midway through his freshman season, and has 7,772 career-passing yards and 54 touchdowns.
“Their quarterback, I feel like he and I played each other,” Odom joked. “He’s been around forever, and he’s playing really well. He’s making smart throws, he’s very effective … we’ll get their A-game, there’s no doubt about it.”