NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- James Franklin threw for four
touchdowns and Missouri squashed any doubts about its early season
schedule with a 51-28 victory at Vanderbilt
Saturday.
The Tigers moved to 5-0 and opened
conference play without missing a beat in the program's first trip to
Nashville as a member of the SEC. Vanderbilt, which won the last match
up 19-15 in Columbia, Mo., last year, slipped to 0-3 in conference play
and 3-3 overall.
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, who
opened a season 5-0 for the fifth time in 13 seasons, credited his
veteran quarterback for guiding the aggressive Tiger offense yet
again.
"James has been around a little bit. If he had
stayed healthy last year, he would have played like this," Pinkel said.
"This doesn't surprise me. I loved him last year. I'm very proud of him
... He is playing with some of the best quarterbacks, I think it's fair
to say that."
Franklin guided Missouri on scoring
drives on the first six Tiger possessions, which resulted in three
touchdowns and three field goals. Missouri out-gained the Commodores
285-97 in the first half in taking a 30-7
lead.
Franklin finished 19-for-28 for 278 yards
passing and added another 63 yards on the ground.
"He
is a great quarterback. He is an exceptional athlete," Vanderbilt coach
James Franklin said. "(We) couldn't pressure the quarterback ... You
have to frustrate him before he goes through his progressions, and we
weren't able to do that."
Even when Vanderbilt
managed to move the ball in the third quarter, the Tigers answered each
score with one of their own to maintain plenty of
cushion.
Missouri's spread attack exploited the slant
route consistently, looking like a conveyer belt of receivers rotating
through the middle for target practice for Franklin. The senior
quarterback also made use of his tight ends for the first time this
season. Eric Waters caught three balls for 39 yards and a
touchdown.
"We feel like we can beat anybody when we
come out like that," Waters said of the Tigers start. "All the hard work
we put in really pays off when we can translate it to the field. We've
been putting in weeks of hard work, trying to get to that next level and
I think we're getting closer."
When linebacker
Kentrell Brothers intercepted Vanderbilt's Austyn Carta-Samuels midway
through the first quarter, it gave the Tigers their 35th consecutive
game with a takeaway. Missouri is averaging 2.5 interceptions per
game.
Coach Franklin apologized to the Vanderbilt
fans during the post-game press conference.
"We got
beat up front," he said.
The 51 points was the most
allowed by Vanderbilt since Florida ran up 55 points in
2010.
Samuels struggled to 48 yards in the first half
before moving the ball with ease in the second half with the tigers
spotted a three-score lead. He found Jordan Matthews for a
record-setting touchdown catch less than three minutes into the second
half.
Matthews, who also overcame a slow start,
posted 123 yards on seven catches and set the school record for
touchdowns and receiving yards in the losing
effort.
The senior has 2,990 receiving yards and 22
touchdowns with the Commodores.
Samuels also rushed
for a 2-yard touchdown in the third as Vanderbilt produced a pair of
scoring drives. Despite the offense, trading scores kept Missouri in
front.
The Tigers had the final touchdown as well on
Franklin's longest completion of the night - a 42-yard touchdown pass to
L'Damian Washington. Washington also scored the game's first touchdown
on a 26-yard catch from Franklin.
Vanderbilt heads
into a bye week before facing No. 6 Georgia, which escaped at Tennessee
34-31 in overtime.
Already matching its win output
from a year ago, Missouri continues its gauntlet of SEC games at Georgia
next week.
