What to know/How to watch: No. 15 Mizzou vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt

The No. 15 Missouri Tigers are looking to take down a top 10 team on the road for the first time since beating No. 7 Georgia in Athens on Oct. 12, 2013, as they head east to play No. 10 Vanderbilt in Nashville. Here are some basics to know about the game between Mizzou and Vandy.
Basic Game Info
- Where: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tenn.
- When: 2:30 p.m.
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: Tiger Radio Network
Vanderbilt (5-1, 2-1 SEC) Team Stats
- Schedule so far: Wins against Charleston Southern (45-3), Virginia Tech (44-20), South Carolina (31-7), Georgia State (70-21) and Utah State (55-35). Loss to Alabama (30-14) then a win against LSU (31-24).
- Points per game: 41.43 (eighth in country)
- Points allowed per game: 20.0 (tied 33rd in country)
- Total yards per game: 457.7 (25th in country)
- Total yards allowed per game: 315.0 (29th in country)
- Passing yards per game: 244.7 (55th in country)
- Passing yards allowed per game: 222.9 (71st in country)
- Rushing yards per game: 213 (21st in country)
- Rushing yards allowed per game: 92.1 (12th in country)
Mizzou (5-1, 2-1) Team Stats
- Schedule so far: Wins against Central Arkansas (61-6), Kansas (42-31), Louisiana (52-10), South Carolina (29-20) and UMass (42-6). Loss to Alabama (27-24) then a win against Auburn (23-17).
- Points per game: 39.0 (12th in country)
- Points allowed per game: 16.71 (16th in country)
- Total yards per game: 486.6 (10th in country)
- Total yards allowed per game: 243.0 (fifth in country)
- Passing yards per game: 241.714 (58th in country)
- Passing yards allowed per game: 159.143 (13th in country)
- Rushing yards per game: 244.9 (seventh in country)
- Rushing yards allowed per game: 83.0 (seventh in country)
Players to Know
Offense
- Diego Pavia, QB
The leader of the Vanderbilt upswing the past two seasons, Pavia has earned himself a spot in Heisman conversations.
He’s a fine passer, completing 129-of-183 (70.5 percent) of his passes this season for 1,569 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. But he’s even more of a threat on the ground where he has rushed for 438 yards and four scores on 77 attempts (5.69 yards per carry).
Pavia is seventh in the SEC in passing yards, second in completion percentage, tied for third in passing touchdowns and second in passer rating at 165.2, behind only Alabama’s Ty Simpson at 170.9.
He’s 10th in the conference in rushing yards.
- Eli Stowers, TE
Vanderbilt’s primary pass catcher is its tight end Stowers. He’s averaging four catches and 50.71 yards per game for a total of 28 catches and 355 yards. Both lead the team. Though his two touchdowns through the air is third on the roster.
Stowers stands at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, presenting a major threat over the middle of the field. Of his 28 catches, 20 have come between the hash marks. And he’s been successful at any range with 16 short catches (shorter than 10 air yards), six intermediate catches (10-19 yards) and two deep catches (more than 20 air yards).
- Junior Sherrill, WR
Along with Stowers, Pavia likes to throw to Sherrill, especially when he needs a score. Sherrill is second on the team with 25 catches and 304 yards, but leads the Commodores with five touchdowns.
While Stowers focuses over the middle, Sherrill can be found all over the field, but usually less than 20 yards downfield.
Of his 25 catches, only one has come on a deep pass.
He’s especially dangerous on intermediate routes, where he has caught 9-of-11 targets for 167 yards.
Defense
- CJ Heard, S
After a freshman season at Florida Atlantic, Heard transferred to Vanderbilt and has instantly become a key part of the defense.
The safety leads the Commodores with 35 tackles, while he has one sack, one interception and three QB hits.
He has struggled in coverage, allowing 15 catches on 15 targets for 192 yards, but lining up as the deep free safety, he often isn’t a primary coverage defender.
- Miles Capers, Edge
Capers has been with Vanderbilt since 2021, but has come on strong as a senior.
He has 20 tackles, with 8.5 for loss and 4.5 sacks. He has four QB hits, two batted passes, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Last season, he produced seven tackles in the matchup between the Tigers and Commodores, and he was named Week 6 SEC Defensive Lineman of the week with a sack and a forced fumble against Alabama.
He has produced 23 total pressures this year with 16 hurries and three QB hits.
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