“Good on Good”: Vanderbilt’s Run Defense Gears Up For Missouri’s Run Attack

Vanderbilt takes on a Missouri run game that has been difficult for other teams to solve.

Sep 27, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores defensive lineman Zaylin Wood (15) tackles Utah State Aggies running back Javen Jacobs (8) for a loss during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE – It is a matchup of strength on strength Saturday afternoon when No. 10 Vanderbilt and No. 15 Missouri take the field together. The two teams come in with similar play styles in terms of how the offenses are run.

While it may be a different scheme with different coaches, both Vanderbilt’s and Missouri’s offenses are built through establishing the ground game. While Vanderbilt has a dynamic duo of a mobile quarterback and a deep running back room between Diego Pavia and a running back room headed by Sedrick Alexander, Missouri has its own quarterback-running back pair that is hoping will give the Commodores trouble this weekend.

Missouri comes into this game with the seventh-best rushing offense in the country. The Tigers are averaging 244.9 rush yards per game. That running attack is led by running back Ahmad Hardy, who has the third-most rush yards in all of college football with 840 yards on the ground already. 

But Missouri also has a mobile quarterback in Beau Pribula who has 67 rush attempts this season that have gone for 210 yards and five touchdowns. In last season’s matchup, it was MIssouri running back Nate Noel who ran for 199 yards on 24 attempts, with one run going for 64 yards, who gave Vanderbilt fits.

However, that was last season. This season, Vanderbilt’s run defense is much improved and is arguably the strength of the Commodores this season. Vanderbilt’s run defense is 12th in the country, allowing just 92.1 yards on the ground per game. That sets up a fascinating and entertaining matchup to watch out for on Saturday. It’s Missouri’s best against Vanderbilt’s best.

“We need to build the run wall. We need to down our mistakes. I think they have the number one explosive rushing attack in the country. So you can't expect a perfect performance on Saturday. When the ball breaks out, we need to get it on the ground,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said.

Lea also referenced a play from this past weekend against LSU. With seven minutes to go in the third quarter, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw a short pass to wide receiver Zavion Thomas. Vanderbilt’s defense sniffed it out, but were unable to bring Thomas to the ground as he ran all the way for a touchdown. Plays like that cannot happen and Lea knows that. One missed tackle against a running back like Hardy could be the downfall of the game for Vanderbilt.

The Commodores also need to be strategic as to how to defend Pribula. Pribula is a quarterback that has shown the ability to take off and run when he is unable to find receivers down the field. Vanderbilt has to respect that part of Pribula’s game by putting a spy on him and preventing him from running for chunk gains.

“I've been impressed with the quarterback. Both in his ability to make plays as a thrower, but also what he can do as a runner as well. And he's going to test your rush integrity, but also they'll design runs for him, which I think are challenging schemes too,” Lea said. “We believe in our rush defense. This is good on good. We have to show up and play better than them.”

Vanderbilt defensive lineman Joshua Singh transferred to Nashville during the offseason from BYU. He has seen his fair share of good running backs during his time in the Big 12, including former Arizona State and now New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo. But Singh feels that if the defense just executes, everything will turn out just fine.

“You just got to do your job at the end of the day and do what coaches are preaching. As long as we do our job, we'll be good,” Singh said.