Vanderbilt vs. Missouri: Score prediction, scouting report in Week 5 college football game
Vanderbilt football goes into its Saturday matchup with Missouri reeling far more than expected.
The Commodores (2-3, 0-1 SEC) have lost consecutive games to Wake Forest, UNLV and Kentucky, have committed 10 turnovers in those games and now may be without starting quarterback AJ Swann because of injury.
Missouri (4-0) is the only SEC team that has yet to play a conference game, but the Tigers went undefeated in their non-conference schedule with wins against South Dakota, Middle Tennessee, Kansas State and Memphis.
The two teams meet Saturday (3 p.m. CT, SEC Network) at FirstBank Stadium after a close matchup in Columbia last season that Vanderbilt lost, 17-14.
Here's what to know about the matchup:
AJ Swann, London Humphreys injuries
Vanderbilt is dealing with multiple injuries heading into the weekend. Most notably, Swann and London Humphreys are both questionable to play.
If Swann cannot go, Ken Seals and Walter Taylor are the next men up for the Commodores at quarterback. Losing Humphreys would be a blow to the downfield passing attack, but Vanderbilt has strong depth at the position with an experienced option on the outside in Quincy Skinner.
At Missouri, both quarterback Brady Cook and wide receiver Luther Burden have been dealing with injuries and could be limited.
Stopping Missouri's Cody Schrader
While Kentucky's Ray Davis got more attention last week by virtue of having transferred from Vanderbilt, Missouri's Cody Schrader has the most rushing yards of anyone in the SEC. He averages 6.2 yards per carry and has scored two touchdowns.
The Commodores' defense did a good job stopping Davis as they prevented him from getting to 100 rushing yards. But defending Schrader will be a bigger challenge that will require sticking to assignments and strong tackling.
Strong secondary
Missouri is tied for third in the SEC with 16 passes defended, which includes both interceptions and pass breakups. Interceptions have been a big problem for Vanderbilt this season. Though most of that is on Swann, who may not play, Seals threw eight interceptions in eight games in 2021. Whichever quarterback starts will need to be careful to avoid giving the ball away.
NASHVILLE RECRUITING How Clark Lea has expanded the Vanderbilt football recruiting pipeline in Nashville
Vanderbilt score prediction vs Missouri
Missouri 35, Vanderbilt 24: This looked like one of the most winnable games on the schedule preseason, but it's hard to see Vanderbilt being able to keep up given its current injury situation.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt score prediction vs. Missouri: College football Week 5
