Drew Lock avoids the tackle of a Vandy player (photo/Mizzou Athletics)

Drew Lock avoids the tackle of a Vandy player (photo/Mizzou Athletics)

The stats heavily favored Vanderbilt.  Everything from offense, rushing, passing, time of possession and yet there were the Missouri Tigers at the Commodores 13 yard line with seconds to play and a one last chance to force a tie.

Drew Lock’s fourth down pass was incomplete as a Vandy defender stepped out of bounds in the endzone preserving a 10-3 win giving their head coach Derek Mason his first SEC win.

Ralph Webb rushed for 99 yards and scored the game’s only touchdown.  Webb’s one-yard run gave Vandy a 7-0 lead with 4:44 left in the first half. His touchdown capped a 72-yard, 11-play drive.

Charles Harris’ sack of Kyle Shurmur and fumble recovery at the Vanderbilt 21-yard line with 2:06 left in the first half set up Missouri’s only score. Andrew Baggett’s 35-yard field goal cut the Commodores’ lead to 7-3 with 49 seconds remaining in the half.

Baggett missed a 47-yard field goal attempt with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. Tommy Openshaw’s 40-yard field goal with 9:12 left in the game made it 10-3.  Openshaw then missed with just over two minutes to play after Vandy took over deep in Tiger territory following a muffed punt.

Taking over with no timeouts from his own 20, Lock lead the Tigers on one last drive that included a 33 yard scramble and a pass interference call on 4th and 24 from the Vandy 45 that kept the Tigers hopes alive.

Mizzou went 0-for-14 on third down conversions.

The losses are starting to mount on Gary Pinkel’s players.

“Disappointment, frustration, high anxiety– certainly, you know, we had a shot at the end. We get one throw in the end zone, a catch, and we would have gone into overtime. It’s a lot of frustration,” said Pinkel after the game. “We’ve lost some close games, really the last three have been reasonably close except for the Florida with interception and the touchdown. But the bottom line is you gotta go do it and we’re not getting it done.”

POSTGAME NOTES:

OFFENSE

•    QB Drew Lock completed 14 of 34 passes for 108 yards.

•    RB Russell Hansbrough and WR J’Mon Moore both finished with a team-high four receptions. Moore led the Tigers with 30 receiving yards.

•    WR Wesley Leftwich caught three passes for 38 yards.

DEFENSE

•    LB Kentrell Brothers recorded 12 tackles, including a sack (-7 yards) on fourth down to stall a drive in the second quarter. It marked the fifth turnover on downs the Mizzou defense has recorded this season. Brothers now has a nation-leading 103 tackles for the year.

•    DE Charles Harris recorded 3.0 tackles for loss (-13 yards), giving him 15.5 TFLs on the season. He entered the game leading the SEC and ranked fifth nationally. In the second quarter, he notched a strip sack (-8 yards) and the fumble was recovered by DE Walter Brady. For Harris, it was his second forced fumble of the season and third of his career. It marked the first recovery of Brady’s career.

•    DT Terry Beckner, Jr. recorded a sack (-9 yards) for the third game in a row, giving him 3.0 QB takedowns during his freshman season.

•    CB Aarion Penton, LB Michael Scherer and S Anthony Sherrilsall finished with eight tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS

•    K Andrew Baggett was responsible for 3 points and is now 26 points shy of the program scoring record.

•    P Corey Fatony averaged 47.7 yards on nine punts. He tied a career-long with a 61-yard punts in the first and second quarter. Fatony also gained 26 rushing yards and a first down on a fake punt during the third quarter.