Field Level Media
25 Nov 2020, 08:40 GMT+10
The Missouri Tigers will continue their bowl quest when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday.
The Tigers (3-3) will try to get over .500 for the first time this season.
"I've got a couple of screenshots of people that predicted us to only win two games," first-year coach Eliah Drinkwitz said. "People counted us out before we got to the fight. There's no quit in us."
The Commodores (0-7) are coming off their best performance since their opening 17-12 loss to the Texas AM Aggies. Vanderbilt raced to 7-0 and 10-7 leads over the Florida Gators last Saturday before falling 38-17.
"This football team is getting better," Commodores coach Derek Mason said. "We still have some depth deficiencies on the defensive side of the ball, but we're working hard on the back end to keep us functionally going."
This game at Faurot Field was rescheduled from Oct. 17 due to the coronavirus depletion of Vanderbilt's roster.
The Tigers were originally scheduled to host the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, but the Southeastern Conference postponed that game due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Arkansas program.
The Commodores were set to face the Tennessee Vols on Saturday, but the SEC pushed that game back so they could make up their game at Missouri instead.
"Had to flip the switch," Drinkwitz said. "Excited about the opportunity to play. We've had a couple of games canceled, moved around. So I thank the SEC for finding us an opponent. It's obviously not ideal to switch that late."
The Tigers played with just 52 available scholarship players last week. Their injury list included guard Xavier Delgado, offensive tackle Larry Borom, nose tackle Kobie Whiteside and defensive end/outside linebacker Trajan Jeffcoat.
Drinkwitz listed those four players as "maybe" for this week. He also got defensive coordinator Ryan Walters and three players back from the coronavirus list.
Back-up quarterback Shawn Robinson remains out and guard Dylan Spencer entered the transfer portal this week.
The Commodores got healthier last week, regaining guards Drew Birchmeier and Dan Dawkins, defensive tackle Cameron Tidd and running back Ja'Veon Marlow.
Freshman quarterback Ken Seals completed 22 for 34 passes against the Gators for 319 yards and two touchdowns -- both to receiver Chris Pierce. The Commodores rushed for just 87 yards, so Mason hopes to regain injured running back Keyon Henry-Brooks.
"That'll be another tool for us as we head down to Columbia," Mason told ESPN 102.5 radio.
On the downside, starting Commodores inside linebacker Dimitri Moore entered the transfer portal this week.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of St Louis Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to St Louis Star.
More InformationWhile Joe Biden's Presidency gives people a chance to rebuild, it also faces the bitterness and opposition of Trump's ever-loyal ...
LONDON, UK - World leaders have congratulated Joe Biden following his inauguration Wednesday as the 46th U.S. president. Many allies ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York - A New York City man who who stoked tensions before and after the storming ...
The end of Donald Trump's dysfunctional tenure in the White House means the start of a relatively normal presidency under ...
U.S. President Donald Trump left the White House for the final time on Wednesday, heading by helicopter to a nearby ...
Last week Israeli human rights group B'Tselem released a position paper describing for the first time in its 30-year history, ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. industrial stocks closed lower on Friday as fears of prolonged lockdowns due to the ...
PARIS, France - The International Energy Agency (IEA) reduced its 2021 global oil forecast this week as fresh coronavirus lockdowns ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia were sold off on Friday.All the major indices lost ground, while the rout ...
LIMERICK, Ireland - A boost for Ireland's expanding tech sector are plans by a giant telco supplier to recruit scores ...
NEW YORK, New York - Wall Street took a breather on Thursday, a day after the major indices hit record ...
The EU has a large fleet that fishes outside European waters. Nearly a third of its catch comes from non-EU ...