Greg McElroy reveals his pick for Missouri at Vanderbilt

One of the highest-ranked matchups of the weekend will kick off in Nashville on Saturday afternoon with No. 15 Missouri vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt, which will be the site of ‘College GameDay.’ That’s a ton of hype on this one between the Tigers and Commodores in Music City.

On ‘Always College Football,’ Greg McElroy previewed and predicted the Top 15 matchup between Mizzou and Vandy. He sees it as a conference game in the SEC with huge implications for the sport as and the the College Football Playoff.

“To think what this game means to the college football landscape, the College Football Playoff landscape? Could this serve as an elimination game in the College Football Playoff? Possibly. You could make that case,” McElroy said. “Both teams right now are 6-1, 2-1 in the SEC. Vanderbilt has had a storybook season under Clark Lea, to be sitting at No. 10 in the Associated Press Poll…And then, Missouri? They’re No. 15 in the country, and they just continue to sustain success.”

In breaking the game down, McElroy first went with time of possession as a key. That’s with both teams being among the nation’s best in keeping the ball based on how they each play offense, and it’s the basis of how they’ve been winning games this fall.

“Who will win time of possession in this game?” McElroy asked. “The Missouri Tigers are number four nationally in time of possession. They control the ball for over 34.5 minutes per game. And we know that, for Vanderbilt to win football games, they really put a huge emphasis on time of possession. They want to shorten the game, they want to lean on you, and they want to be efficient with four and five-yard plays. They’re not worried about hitting the big chunk yardage because they don’t want to expose their defense, overexpose their defense to extended snap plays that they’re going to have to defend.

“So, they possess the ball for 31:45 in the game. Whoever wins time of possession really has a chance, more than maybe any other game this season, to win the game.”

Because of that, McElroy also highlighted each of their respective run games. They both maintain possession by being among the best rushing attacks in the country, with the Tigers at 244.9 yards per game and the Commodores at 213 per game.

“Can Missouri continue to lean on the running game?” McElroy asked. “They are a top seven offense in the country when it comes to running the football. They average about, just under 250 a game. And the focal point of this rushing offense is Ahmad Hardy.

“Will Vanderbilt’s offense stay on schedule?” McElroy continued. “Their entire offensive identity is remarkably efficient. They also are really good at finishing drives…The thing about this, though, is they’re really good on third down…They want to make it manageable; they want to get to 3rd & 2 and 3. That’s where they can decide, well, we can run it or we can throw it when they get into those manageable situations. ….It allows them to lean on those long, clock-draining drives that ultimately wear down the opponent’s defense and maximizes their scoring opportunities on every possession.”

McElroy also noted the quarterback play of Beau Pribula as well as Diego Pavia. He put a focus on the turnover battle as well. But, with each of their identities, the winners in the run game and on the clock are likely going to be the winner of this game on the scoreboard with how these two teams profile.

That all said, McElroy went with Vanderbilt to win this weekend. He sees the Commodores as a better team, one that’s playing better overall and will do so on their home field on Saturday afternoon.

“I’m going to take Vanderbilt,” McElroy said. “I think they’re the more complete football team. I think they’re playing at. ridiculously high level, and I trust their quarterback a little bit more than I do the Missouri Tigers.”

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