No. 10 Vanderbilt’s historic rise is put to the test when hosting No. 15 Missouri in an SEC showdown

NASHVILLE Tenn AP The Vanderbilt Commodores are doing exactly what they talked about last January when starting to prepare for this season So the stakes keep rising each week with none of the Commodores happy just being bowl eligible not now that they are ranked No in the AP Top for the first time since It s why ESPN s College GameDay will be in town for the first time since when another sellout crowd is on hand Saturday This is what we expected this is what comes with it coach Clark Lea stated So we can get over that and stay focused on again this climb which is Missouri Vanderbilt - - versus No Missouri - - is one of the Southeastern Conference s marquee games They are among six SEC teams with only one loss trailing No Alabama and No Texas A M at the top of the league Games usually come down to the end in this series The Tigers pulled out a double overtime win last season for their fifth straight preeminence and ninth in games over Vanderbilt Missouri is coming off another double overtime win this time - over Auburn last week Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz dismissed all the festivities at his Tigers second straight road match We ll show up We ll go to the visitors locker room We ll walk out on the field and play the battle Drinkwitz commented Whatever else they got for their fans there is up to them but it doesn t affect us Offensive showdown These are two of the country s highest-scoring teams Vanderbilt averages points a meeting good for eighth nationally with Missouri th piling up points The Commodores beat then-No LSU - last week scoring the greater part points LSU had allowed all season Lea mentioned Missouri s offense has been thought-provoking to watch prompting him to text Drinkwitz earlier this season to ask when his Tigers were going to stop scoring points He s a friend but it s like My God when is it enough offense Dual-threat quarterbacks Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia ranks third in the SEC with touchdown passes He has completed of his throws and he is averaging yards of total offense thanks to his own running ability Drinkwitz mentioned Pavia has improved his accuracy as a thrower but remains a threat with his legs He knows how to attack angles He knows how to utilize pump fakes with the quarterback position He knows how to eliminate angles which is really just a savviness He can get skinny and he can lower his shoulder Drinkwitz commented He s got all the traits you want from a really tough physical runner Lea had his own compliments for Missouri QB Beau Pribula I ve been impressed with the quarterback both in his ability to make plays as a thrower but also what he can do as a runner as well Stop Hardy Before worrying about Pribula Vanderbilt will have to defend Ahmad Hardy who is third in the country with yards rushing Hardy has run for at least yards in of his last games dating back to Louisiana-Monroe last season Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top throughout the season Sign up here and here AP News mobile app AP college football https apnews com hub ap-top- -college-football-poll and https apnews com hub college-football Source