Missouri 45, Vanderbilt 17, goodbye bowl eligibility

It only took Missouri’s high powered offense eight plays to hang its first seven points on Vanderbilt. From there, the Commodore defense held tough -- but the offense and special teams helped give the Tigers all the points they’d need to leave Nashville with a win.

Kyle Shurmur threw three interceptions -- including a pick six and another inside the Missouri five-yard line — and Richaud Floyd returned a punt 74 yards as Vandy failed in every aspect of the game in a 45-17 loss on Senior night. The Commodores held Tiger quarterback Drew Lock to just 10 of 25 passing, but an embattled defense’s solid performance wasn’t enough to keep Derek Mason’s bowl hopes alive.

The Commodores trailed 35-0 at halftime before finally waking up in the second half. Seniors Ralph Webb and Caleb Scott were able to find the end zone and remind us all of how much they’ll be missed in 2018.

The loss drops Vanderbilt to 4-7 overall and 0-7 in the SEC. Missouri, who started its season 1-5, won its fifth straight game and is now 6-5 (3-4). With 2017 looking like the kind of season with enough six-win teams to fulfill all of the NCAA’s bowl spots, the Commodores are unlikely to receive a last-ditch bid to a low-tier bowl with five wins this winter.

But Tennessee is next week, and beating the Volunteers — even this year’s Chinese electronics knockoff version of the Vols -- would help turn 2017 from a failure to a building block.