Missouri, Lock hope to build on previous November success

Now that he has finally defeated a ranked opponent for the first time in his career, Missouri quarterback Drew Lock can get back to something he has done much more successfully – win games in November.

Since becoming the starter for the Tigers in 2015, Lock has a combined record of 8-5 in games in the final month of the season. Three of the five losses came when he was a freshman, and under Lock the Tigers have won seven of their last eight November games.

The latest win came last Saturday, when Lock passed for three touchdowns in a win at 13th-ranked Florida.

Lock and the Tigers will try to build on that success on Saturday when they host Vanderbilt in Columbia. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.

A win would be the sixth of the season for the Tigers, making them bowl eligible, although another win in the final two weeks of the season, at Tennessee or at home against Arkansas, would improve their standing in the eyes of bowl officials pondering who to invite to their games.

One of the reasons for the 38-17 win over Florida was the Tigers’ success on third down. After failing to complete a first down on eight possessions in the second half in the previous week’s loss to Kentucky, Missouri converted on 11 of 18 third-down plays against the Gators.

They hope to continue that success against Vanderbilt, which defeated Arkansas in its last game before a bye week last Saturday.

“The biggest thing I hope our team learned from Kentucky is to not let events that happened in a game affect how you play the next series,” said offensive coordinator Derek Dooley. “We really had a great first half against Kentucky. Then whatever events that happened, it started kind of changing how we played.”

Missouri has won the last two games against Vanderbilt and is 4-2 against the Commodores since joining the SEC.