COLUMBIA - A week after an inspiring, confidence-restoring win at No. 13 Florida, Missouri started Saturday's game against Vanderbilt looking nothing like the team that ran the Gators off their own field.
The Tigers weren't connecting like usual on deep shots, couldn't tackle properly, were fooled by misdirection and pre-snap motion and allowed Commodore running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn to run wild.
And even with the defense forcing two fourth-quarter turnovers on downs - one inches from the Missouri goal line - and Vanderbilt turning two interceptions in Tiger territory into zero points, Barry Odom and Co. found themselves in a familiar position at the end of the game.
"Down to the last play, I'm kind of tired of those," the Missouri coach said after the Tigers held on to win 33-28 at Faurot Field.
Tucker McCann missed a 32-yard field goal, giving the Commodores a window of opportunity: go 80 yards in 1:48 with one timeout and win the game. It's something other opponents have done against Missouri this season, multiple times in fact.
It did not happen this time.
The Tigers (6-4, 2-4 SEC) achieved bowl eligibility with the victory after a Kyle Shurmur shot to the end zone with five seconds left was broken up by Cam Hilton.
Odom said he checked the field twice for flags before celebrating, and the Tigers left Faurot Field with the guarantee of a postseason appearance for the second straight season.
"There will be a point in my time here where getting to six wins is an expectation, and that was a little bit the way our team was in the locker room afterwards," Odom said. "That's good to see, but they expect a lot more and they want a lot more. And they understand the work that has to go into it to not only get to six, but then to get to seven and eight and nine, and then on from there."
"Both sides of the ball didn't play our best game, let's be honest," Missouri guard Kevin Pendleton said. "But the critical, key moments, the times where we needed to step up and needed to make a play, both sides of the ball made plays."
Drew Lock finished 22-of-33 passing for 253 yards, two touchdowns and another rushing, and two interceptions. He now has 11,247 career passing yards, which moved him into third on the SEC's all-time leaderboard, passing Chris Leak and Peyton Manning on his birthday.
Damarea Crockett and Larry Rountree combined for 43 rushes for 214 yards on the ground. Crockett rushed for one touchdown and caught another, and helped the Tigers overcome a sluggish start on offense. After two punts and a turnover in their first four drives, the offense scored on each of its next five drives, a streak that stretched from the second to fourth quarters.
Vanderbilt (4-6, 1-5 SEC) closed out the third quarter with Vaughn runs of 20 and 44 yards and had a first-and-goal at the Missouri 3. Khari Blasingame rushed three times, including for no gain on third and goal, which ended the quarter.
Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason had a few minutes during the field switch and TV timeout to consider his playcall with a two-point lead, and called on Vaughn, who was averaging 12.9 yards per carry, to get the ball on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to start the fourth.
Vaughn was met by a handful of Missouri defenders, a crucial stop that prevented the Commodores from adding to a 28-26 lead.
"If we don't get that, our chances of winning go down a lot," Missouri linebacker Cale Garrett said. "I think we understood the urgency of what needed to be done and a hyper-focus on your job."
"It's a mano-a-mano deal," Missouri linebacker Terez Hall said. "Just think about it. It's me versus you, you've got to get one yard. I'm on the other side, you're on that side, and we believe we can do it more than you can. That's all that it is. Fourth-and-1 is our down."
Missouri took over inches from its own end zone, and put together a 14-play, 99-yard drive to take the lead. The Tigers converted three third downs on the drive, including a 15-yard completion to freshman defensive end-turned- tight end Daniel Parker Jr. on third-and-3 and a 24-yard completion to freshman Dominic Gicinto, who was the team's leading receiver.
Drew Lock ran in his fourth touchdown of the season to give the Tigers their first lead of the game with a little more than nine minutes remaining in the game.
Parker Jr. also had a 20-yard touchdown reception to end the previous drive and pull the Tigers to within 28-26. Missouri was without tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, who did not dress because of a shoulder injury, and Kendall Blanton, who dressed but did not play by coach's decision after missing two weeks with a knee injury, which meant Parker Jr. was the starting tight end.
It still took two defensive stands to ensure the win. Vanderbilt punted on its next drive, and Lock had a pass knocked into the air and intercepted at the Missouri 37 with 5:38 to play. The Commodores ran for one yard on second down and threw three incompletions to give the ball back to the Tigers, who marched to the Vanderbilt 20 with the help of a 42-yard connection between Lock and Gicinto. But the Tigers couldn't seal the game with a touchdown and missed a field goal that would have put Missouri up eight.
Perhaps the saving grace for Missouri was Vanderbilt had to throw to win the game. Vaughn had a career-high 181 yards rushing, which broke the mark of 172 he set two weeks ago against Arkansas - including a 65-yard touchdown run on the Commodores' first drive of the game - and averaged 12.1 yards per carry against Missouri's normally-stout run defense, which allowed a season-high 216 yards on the ground.
Shurmur finished 24-of-35 passing for 249 yards and three touchdowns, but was sacked on the first play of the final drive by Terry Beckner Jr., which forced Vanderbilt to call its final timeout. And though he went 6-of-8 for 55 yards on the final drive, one of those two incompletions came on the final play of the game.
"We knew as a football team we were going to get in that situation again," Odom said. "I didn't think it'd be two weeks from (the Kentucky game), but you never know. You've got to go prepare and expect the opportunity to arise again, and then go make the most of it."
Missouri made sure this one did not get away. The Tigers lined up with five across the goal line and rushed six on what would have been the final play, but Odom called timeout after he saw how Vanderbilt wanted to line up.
Missouri came out of the timeout in a 2-high safety look and man coverage across the rest of the formation and two defenders were on hand to make a play when Shurmur threw to Jared Pinkney in the right corner of the end zone.
"I'm proud that our team ended up winning it on that last play," Odom said.
Missouri heads to Knoxville next week to take on Tennessee (5-5, 2-4 SEC). Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.