Each Sunday, PowerMizzou.com will hand out a position-by-position grade card for Missouri from Saturday's game. Here are the marks from the Tigers’ 37-28 win over Vanderbilt.
Quarterback: Connor Bazelak had his share of struggles against Vanderbilt. He threw a costly red zone interception in the first quarter and missed on several third down throws. He also slid short of the first down line on a third down scramble, then tried to snap the ball before the rest of the offense was set. However, Bazelak did make a few key plays down the stretch. He found Tauskie Dove on a fourth down and a third down in the second half, and both conversions led to points. Bazelak wound up completing 22 of 28 passes for 218 yards, one touchdown and one interception. When he left the game due to injury, Eli Drinkwitz opted to put true freshman Tyler Macon behind center. Macon didn't attempt a pass but ran twice for eight yards and the game-sealing touchdown. GRADE: C
Running backs: Even by the incredible standards he's established for himself this season, Tyler Badie was a monster. Missouri's clear game plan was to have Badie carry the offense as far as he could. He delivered by turning 39 touches into 294 total yards. Those both represented career highs. His 73-yard run when Missouri led by two points in the final minutes provided a fitting cap to the phenomenal performance. The rest of the backfield only combined for five carries, but it's hard to second-guess that since Badie played so well. GRADE: A+
Wide receivers: Bazelak wasn't great, but some of his struggles appeared to be due to a lack of open receivers. Vanderbilt routinely dropped eight defensive backs in coverage, and the Tiger pass-catchers struggled to create separation. Only three wideouts recorded a catch in Barrett Banister, Keke Chism and Tauskie Dove, although they combined for 14 grabs, including several big ones. Chism's catch on the Hail Mary at the end of the first half would win the award for non-Badie play of the day. GRADE: C+
Tight Ends: Missouri never looked to its tight ends in the passing game Saturday. And while Daniel Parker Jr. and Niko Hea surely contributed some blocking for Badie's big game, Parker did draw a pair of holding penalties as well as a personal foul flag. GRADE: D
Offensive line: Missouri took the field with a new-look offensive line. Connor Wood started at right guard in place of the injured Case Cook, while Luke Griffin drew the start at left guard, having won the job from Xavier Delgado. It was an up-and-down performance for the unit. The final box score looks good, with Vanderbilt only recording four tackles for loss and no sacks, but as mentioned above, the Commodores frequently devoted most of their defensive personnel to pass coverage. Bazelak was still rushed on a few throws, too, including his interception. The line does deserve some credit for Badie's 254 rushing yards, but a lot of that was simply Badie making defenders miss. GRADE: C
Defensive line: Missouri's defensive line didn't look like it got consistently blown off the ball like it has in some other games this season, although that might have a lot to do with the fact that the Tigers were playing a Vanderbilt offense that entered the week ranked last in the nation in scoring and that ran for nine yards against Mississippi State last week. It seemed like the defensive front generally held its gaps, but a couple huge gains on the ground still allowed Vanderbilt to rush for over 250 yards. Kobie Whiteside had a sack and made a couple other nice plays, and defensive ends Trajan Jeffcoat and Isaiah McGuire combined for a sack, as well. All in all, it was probably the best performance by the Tiger defensive front against a league opponent this season, although that was a low bar. GRADE: C
Linebackers: Making his third career start, Chad Bailey played a solid game. The redshirt junior totaled six tackles, including two for loss, and a sack. He also laid a vicious hit on Vanderbilt quarterback Mike Wright that contributed to an incompletion on a third down. The other linebackers were, to put it mildly, underwhelming. Fellow starter Devin Nicholson made four tackles, but on two of them he got dragged several yards before bringing the ball-carrier down. Blaze Alldredge mustered just one stop. The linebackers looked to be out of position on both of Wright's long runs. GRADE: D
Secondary: Missouri wasn't tested very much through the air, but a shorthanded secondary generally held its own in coverage. Vanderbilt completed just 14 passes on the game. But credit cornerbacks Akayleb Evans and Kris Abrams-Draine (who got moved from the slot to outside cornerback) for each making a few nice plays. Safety Jaylon Carlies was solid, as well, leading the way with eight tackles, all solo. Carlies made the play to tackle Vanderbilt kicker Joseph Bulovas behind the line of scrimmage on the Commodores' fake field goal attempt, which set up the successful Hail Mary. Martez Manuel grabbed his first career interception. The performance wasn't perfect for the defensive backfield, as Missouri got flagged for a pass interference call and a defensive holding and played a part in allowing the two long runs for Wright, but the group looked better than it has the past three games. GRADE: C+
Special Teams: Special teams coordinator Erik Link deserves a raise — and he should give half of it to Harrison Mevis. Mevis continued his strong case to win the Groza Award as the best kicker in the country. He made all three field goals, including a 46-yarder and a 52-yarder, as well as all four extra points. He's yet to miss a kick this season. Elsewhere on special teams, Missouri blocked a punt and snuffed out Vanderbilt's fake field goal attempt. GRADE: A
Coaching: Missouri still struggled with penalties after Drinkwitz made that a point of emphasis during the bye week, getting flagged nine times for 100 yards. Those have to be cleaned up. And, as always, there were a handful of play calls that could be second-guessed. But give Drinkwitz credit for getting his team ready to play to start a game and for feeding his stud in Badie. Also, the choice to be aggressive at the end of the first half this week paid off big-time. GRADE: B
Final Overall Grade: C+
