(Photo Credit: Ryan Leopando- Arch City Sports)
On a day when the Missouri Tigers said welcome home to many former alumni of the university they also said welcome home to a more important group of people, the offense. After an abysmal performance in the victory over Florida and a shallow effort against Georgia Maty Mauk and the Tigers amassed 385 yards of total offense in their 24-14 win over Vanderbilt.
While the victory probably should have been by a larger margin its at least a start in the right direction. Despite completing less than 50 percent of his passes Mauk was able to throw for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns to senior wide out Bud Sasser.
The scoring got started on Missouri’s first drive of the game as Mauk led the Tigers deep into Vanderbilt territory before the drive stalled inside the Commodore’s twenty-yard line. Andrew Baggett came in and connected on a 37-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.
Late in the second quarter Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel elected to use the ground game as Marcus Murphy and Russell Hansbrough split carries in the back field. The drive was capped off by a touchdown run from 10-yards out by Hansbrough that extended the Tigers advantage to 10-0.
The Commodore’s responded quickly with a score of their own. With 3:19 left to play Vanderbilt quarterback Johnny McCrary capitalized on a pair of penalties to set up the Commodores in Missouri territory. McCrary hit Nathan Marcus for a nine-yard touchdown completion to cut the deficit to 10-7 heading into halftime.
In the second half Mauk finally emerged from his slumber and hit Sasser in the end zone for a 13-yard score to push the Tigers advantage to 17-7. The touchdown pass was Mauk’s first since last throwing one to Sean Culkin in the fourth quarter against Indiana.
Vanderbilt kept it interesting later in the fourth quarter as McCrary connected with C.J. Duncan for a 39-yard score to cut the lead back down to three with the score standing at 17-14. Though Mauk and the Tigers sealed the deal on the ensuing drive as Mauk found Sasser for the second time in the game to give Missouri the 24-14 lead and the win.
All in all it was good to see the Tigers stay on course with a win they had to have over a weaker Vanderbilt team. The team snaps their home losing streak after dropping the previous two home contests to Indiana and Georgia. Mauk and the offense seemed to show some sort of life with the two touchdowns, but they still need to improve. With the exception of Sasser’s five catches for 74 yards the other wide receivers were virtually non-existent. Darius White and Jimmie Hunt need to be more involved in games as we’re now passed the half way point of the season.
The defense once again stayed strong and forced a turnover at the beginning of the third quarter when Braylon Webb intercepted McCrary. The defenses consistent play has helped keep the Tigers in games all year along limiting opponent’s offensive attacks.
With the win the Tigers move to 6-2 on the year and 3-1 in SEC play. The team is next in action next Saturday when they take on Kentucky at home.
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