Clark Lea credits offensive line for hot start vs. Missouri

The Vanderbilt Commodores and head coach Clark Lea jumped out to a nice early start against the No. 23 Missouri Tigers on Saturday afternoon. The Commodores were up 7-3 after the first quarter, thanks to a six-yard touchdown run from quarterback Ken Seals.

Early in the second quarter, the SEC Network sideline reporter caught up with Lea to talk about the good start for the ‘Dores.

“We were happy to get the touchdown. I thought early on. Really, it goes to the offensive line. Those guys are playing tough. The runs haven’t been there, but they’re pushing the pile and they’re creating, keeping us on schedule. I’m inspired by that. We’ve gotta keep that mentality as we go. This is gonna be a long afternoon. But pleased so far with our heart,” Lea said.

What does the Vanderbilt defense need to do the rest of the way to come away with a victory? “Well, we’ve had opportunities. We were jumping offsides too much. Obviously they’re keying up on us trying to get off the line of scrimmage. We have to have our discipline. On third down, we’ve gotta get off the field. We’ll have more here. I think we’re doing a good job on first down. It’s just staying the course. It’s gonna be a long afternoon,” Lea said at the start of the second quarter.

While Lea might have been pleased with the good start, Missouri countered and in a big way, prevailing 38-21. The Tigers ended up scoring 21 unanswered on Saturday, thanks to the dynamic connection of Brady Cook and Luther Burden. Burden once again proved to be unstoppable, hauling in 140 receiving yards and two touchdowns. It’s the fourth straight 100-yard receiving game for the former five-star plus+ wideout. Cook torched the Commodore secondary to the tune of 395-passing yards (career-high), while tossing in four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Burden is the highest ranked receiver to sign with Missouri since Dorial Green-Beckham and there’s no question he’s got the potential to become one of the greatest wideouts in Mizzou football history.

Lea had to have been pleased with the performance on his wideout, Will Sheppard, who hauled in five catches for 98 receiving yards and a touchdown. Vanderbilt quarterback Ken Seals also threw some pretty deep balls, connecting on 64.5% of his passes for 259 yards, while tossing in two touchdowns and just one interception. He also tacked on a rushing touchdown.