With postseason implications, Mizzou and Vanderbilt meet on a different kind of stage
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Who would’ve thought 10, five, three years ago that Missouri and Vanderbilt would be playing a game like this?
No. 15 at No. 10. Both teams carrying 6-1 records. ESPN’s “College GameDay†in town, highlighting one of the unarguably best games of the weekend.
Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula runs past South Carolina’s Monkell Goodwine (44) and Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (99) during the first half Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Columbia, Mo.
3 things to watch for when No. 15 Mizzou faces No. 10 Vanderbilt
Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula hands off to running back Ahmad Hardy on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in the first half of a game against Alabama at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — It’s a good time to be associated with Vanderbilt football. The top 10 Commodores are 6-1 this season and have a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback. Their coach is well-respected; their roster is deep. It costs at least $230 to get a seat inside a newly renovated FirstBank Stadium for Saturday’s game. Before the gates even open, ESPN’s “College GameDay†will originate from the Vanderbilt campus for the first time since 2008.
Planning to cut through all that sweetness is No. 15 Missouri, which seems salty and bitter as can be.
Worthy: Missouri offensive line must rise to the challenge, assert itself at Vanderbilt
Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula is wrapped up by defensive lineman London Simmons, who beat left tackle Cayden Green’s (70) block attempt in the first half of a game Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo.
Christian Gooden, Post-Dispatch
Right up until the teams take the field Saturday, Mizzou will primarily serve as this week’s backdrop in the and Vanderbilt’s continued push into the forefront of the national college football consciousness. You may have heard that Vanderbilt broke into the top 10 in the AP poll this week.
The team from Columbia, Missouri, will simply be the latest group of background actors in the ongoing Pavia-Vandy miniseries, taking the place of last week’s extras, LSU. Every episode centers around Pavia, the brash, charismatic, athletic and improvisational Vanderbilt quarterback. At least that’s the common expectation.
"The reason Ahmad Hardy can't get yards is because teams are figuring out how to corral him at the line of scrimmage." says Missouri and their run game is trending in the wrong direction.
— CBS Sports College Football 🈠(@CBSSportsCFB)
Why Mizzou respects an improved Vanderbilt: 'They've been a tough out every year'
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Is magic still magic if it has become unsurprising and repeatable? At what point should a trick be recognized as undeniably tricky?
Vanderbilt, the Cinderella of the Southeastern Conference a year ago, has put on the golden gown of a true contender. There shouldn’t be anyone left in the league who looks at the No. 10 Commodores and mistakes them for a cute story.
Mizzou football linebacker Josiah Trotter speaks with the media on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in advance of a game at Vanderbilt. (Video by Mizzou Network, used with permission of Mizzou Athletics)
Read the full transcript of Mizzou beat writer Eli Hoff's weekly chat
Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Eli Hoff in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday. Scroll past the chat window for an easier-to-read live transcript.
Inside the schematic chess match that will be Mizzou's Josiah Trotter vs. Vanderbilt TEs
Missouri linebacker Josiah Trotter (40) celebrates tackling Central Arkansas running back Landen Chambers during the first half of a game Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, on Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — On the last play of Missouri’s double-overtime win against Auburn last Saturday, a fourth-down stop by Mizzou’s defense, middle linebacker Josiah Trotter improvised.
His job was to blitz from his linebacker position. As the ball was snapped, he charged forward through a gap in the Auburn offensive line. A running back stepped up toward Trotter to try to slow his progression.
Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz speaks with the media on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in advance of a game at Vanderbilt. (Video by Mizzou Network, used with permission of Mizzou Athletics)
Mizzou's Josiah Trotter on facing Vanderbilt's tight ends
Mizzou has 'a lot of things we have to clean up' after messy win over Auburn
Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee (4) intercepts a pass intended for Missouri wide receiver Joshua Manning (0) during the first half of a game Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Auburn, Ala.
Butch Dill, Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The joy wears off some wins quicker than others, and it didn’t take long for Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz to find the flaws in the Tigers’ most recent one.
He came armed to his Tuesday news conference with a laundry list of issues spotted in Mizzou’s 23-17 double-overtime win against Auburn. It doesn’t take a football genius to have spotted most of them.
'You need to be able to run the football' to win on road, Mizzou's Eli Drinkwitz says
Mizzou's Eli Drinkwitz breaks down Vanderbilt's strengths
Another extension for Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz? Here's what could be coming.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Another week, another prominent college football program firing its head coach, another instance of Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz’s name popping up as a potential candidate.
Last week, it was Penn State. This week, it’s Florida. Given the apparent proclivity of schools to dismiss coaches midseason in 2025, there will probably be others soon enough.
Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz speaks with the media on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, after a win at Auburn. (Video by Mizzou Network, used with permission of Mizzou Athletics)
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1972: Mizzou pulled off one of its most unlikely upsets ever
On Oct. 21, 1972, one week after losing 62-0 to Nebraska, the Mizzou Tigers football team stunned No. 8 Notre Dame in South Bend. Here is our original coverage of that game.
Whatever lies ahead for this year's University of Missouri football team, it is unlikely that anything will surpass Saturday's game for pure pleasure. Because the Tigers, dismissed as gridiron nobodies, rose up and dispatched the previously undefeated Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, 30-26, before 59,075 stunned and soggy spectators.
