Vanderbilt Committed Crucial Penalties, But Found Way to Win

The Commodores made mistakes against Missouri, but they found a way to win despite leaving potential points on the board.

Oct 25, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores defensive players celebrate after a goal-line stand against the Missouri Tigers during the third quarter at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE – It was most definitely not the prettiest or the most satisfying game for No. 10 Vanderbilt football in its win over No. 15 Missouri.

As much as there was a lack of offense, there were also penalties, seemingly in the beginning, middle and later stages of the game. Not only that, it also felt like each penalty occurred at a crucial point in the game including points where Vanderbilt could have scored more than just 17.

The first five possessions of the game were all punts. Three from Missouri and two from Vanderbilt. But on the sixth possession of the game, the Commodores had a possession start from their own 8-yard line. They then drove it all the way down to the Missouri 23-yard line with a fresh set of downs. Vanderbilt looked as if it finally found something offensively.

But then, penalties happened. A negative yard rush and an incomplete pass quickly made it 3rd and 11 from the Missouri 24-yard line. It was a delay of game that made it 3rd and 16, which would more than likely be a run up the middle or an obvious passing situation. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia threw an incompletion on the down, but an unnecessary roughness call pushed the Commodores all the way back to the 44-yard line, which effectively took Vanderbilt out of field goal range.

In the second quarter it was a similar situation. Vanderbilt began a possession on its own 25-yard line with 5:06 left to go in the half. The Commodores quickly got to a 1st and goal scenario on Missouri’s 7-yard line. On 2nd and goal, it was Pavia who magically pulled off a rushing touchdown after dancing around Missouri’s defense, but it was taken off the board thanks to a holding penalty that pushed Vanderbilt back to 2nd and goal from the 18.

Vanderbilt had to settle for a 38-yard field later to finish off that possession. Between those two first half possessions that were squandered due to penalties, it felt that Vanderbilt left at least seven points on the board, if not, more.

Defensively, there were two penalties that Vanderbilt committed in crucial moments. With a Missouri drive that was trending toward stalling out, Vanderbilt safety CJ Heard committed a pass interference on a 2nd and 8 that granted the Tigers an automatic first down. And Missouri made Vanderbilt pay as it ended up going down the field for a touchdown to tie the game at 10.

Another penalty happened on the final possession of the game. Vanderbilt’s defense had Missouri with a 3rd and 23 from its own 12, a scenario that has a very low conversion rate. But the Commodores end up bailing the Tigers out with a pass inference off an incomplete pass and giving Missouri a fresh set of downs.

“The penalties we need to clean up offensively,” Pavia said. “It would be a whole lot different if none of us are stressing at the end of the game, but that’s something we could fix in practice. And we’ll get that fixed this upcoming week.”

However, it was the defense that ended up stepping up on the final play by keeping Missouri wide receiver out of the end zone despite the hail mary grab. And that was the story of the game. Despite the penalties and despite all the mistakes that were made throughout the game, the Commodores came out on top.

The mark of a playoff contender and a national championship contender is whether or not the team can overcome its mistakes and still win games despite shooting itself in the foot over and over. For Vanderbilt, it did just that.

Vanderbilt left a full touchdown on the board. It also left the door open for Missouri to tie the game at the buzzer on a hail mary. Yet the Commodores made the plays it needed to in spite of those plays. That is simply a testament to the character of this football team. It is a group of players that have rallied around each other with one common goal: shocking the world and continuing to win.

“We’re a bunch of misfits. A lot of guys are repping it on their shirts. You think about our team. It is FCS or Conference USA guys who were all slept on. I feel like we got that chip on our shoulder,” Pavia said. “Same thing defensively. Bunch of misfits who really don’t care about what the people say.”