Instant Analysis: Vanderbilt Adds to Resume With Win Over No. 15 Missouri

Vanderbilt Commodores On SI’s Joey Dwyer and Graham Baakko and Dylan Tovitz broke down Vanderbilt's win over Missouri.

Oct 25, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (2) hands off to running back Sedrick Alexander (28) against the Missouri Tigers during the fourth quarter at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE – What a game it was.

No. 10 Vanderbilt snuck out a close 17-10 win over Missouri in what was a game dominated by penalties in crucial times, clutch defense, and a little bit of clutch offense.

Points were at a premium, but it was a game that had seemingly everything. The first half was filled with two defenses that went back-and-forth trading punts and possessions. Each team only came away with a field goal by the end of the first half. 

In the second half, offenses started to wake up. Vanderbilt was able to come away with the game’s first touchdown off a 80-yard touchdown run from running back MK Young. The rush accounted for 30 percent of Vanderbilt’s total yardage.

Missouri did not back down, though. The Tigers did suffer a key injury to quarterback Beau Pribula, who left the game in an air cast due to an ankle injury while attempting to take off running on a 4th and goal. But Missouri’s backup quarterback was able to hold his own.

Backup Missouri quarterback Matt Zollers was able to orchestrate a touchdown drive that allowed Missouri to tie the game at 10 with under 13 minutes to go. But after trading possessions, it was Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia who ran in a 1-yard touchdown who got the game-winning score as the Commodores went up 17-10.

It was not a guaranteed win afterward, though. Vanderbilt had to come up with a defensive stop on the goal line off a Missouri hail mary. The pass was complete, but the ball was just inches short of the goal line as Vanderbilt held on to win.

“Defensively, they played very well, and they made it really challenging on us, and that was an ugly win. And yet, it was a win, and we're not going to complain about that. We're going to celebrate it, because if you're going to be a great team, you have to find ways to win games like that. We lost time of possession, we were out gained. I think we actually had a higher yards per play average. So there's some numbers there that go in our favor. But I think the biggest deal was they were one for three in the red zone. And so this was a defense that in the second half stepped up when we needed to battle every blade of grass,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said.