Vanderbilt football is on the verge of an upset against Missouri: What went wrong?

Before this season, the Vanderbilt football team had not played an overtime game since 2018.

So far in 2024, the Commodores have played two in their first four games.

The first time, against Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt played nearly perfectly, scoring a touchdown on the first drive of overtime and then stopping on fourth down. Things didn't go so well on Saturday at No. 8 Missouri (3-0, 1-0 SEC).

Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime. The Tigers got the ball first in the second overtime, scoring a field goal. The Commodores (2-2, 0-1) seemed to be on course for victory when Diego Pavia earned a first down at the Missouri 12. But then offensive pass interference and a missed field goal led to the Tigers' 30-27 victory.

““If you had asked me at the moment when Diego came into the huddle and made the first down, there was no way I felt we were going to leave the field anywhere other than in the end zone,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “And so we fell short of expectations.”

On the first attempt after the scrimmage, Pavia lost three yards. On the second attempt, Pavia threw a fade pass to wide receiver Junior Sherrill in the end zone. Sherrill was covered and received a 15-yard penalty for offensive pass interference.

Missouri's defender could have intercepted the pass, which would have been worse than the penalty. But not everyone was happy with the penalty either.

“I liked my matchup, I liked Junior Sherrill more than anybody,” Pavia said. “And so I threw. And then football just happened. And we got pushed back. And they thought it was offensive pass interference. But, you know, everybody else thinks differently. But things happen.”

Facing a second-and-28, Pavia made a 17-yard pass to Sherrill, followed by an incomplete pass that set up a field goal attempt by Brock Taylor. Taylor had already made two field goals, from 27 and 57 yards, but had missed from 50 yards late in the fourth quarter.

Taylor missed the kick, even though it was 31 yards. He also missed a potentially game-winning kick in the opening play against Virginia Tech that sent the game into overtime.

“He's got the leg to play,” Lea said of Taylor. “He's a young player. He's a resilient player. So we're going to keep putting him on the field and giving him the chances. The team believes in him. I think right now it's about encouraging him.”

In the first overtime, Vanderbilt scored a touchdown, but the Tigers' Luther Burden tied it with a single play, a 25-yard touchdown.

Burden finished the game with six catches for 76 yards, which is a pretty poor game for him, but he scored two touchdowns and made big plays at key moments, something the Commodores lacked.

Being as close as Vanderbilt and still losing, part of a 28-game losing streak against top-10 opponents, brought out mixed emotions in the locker room. Linebacker Bryan Longwell said the team is motivated to see how far it can go, knowing it can play with a team at the top of the SEC. Pavia said the team is upset about the loss, but also that the Commodores are close to getting over the hump.

Overreactions Vanderbilt won't win big games without stars like Luther Burden, more overreactions after the Missouri game

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Reach her at [email protected] or via X, formerly Twitter. @aria_gerson.

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