COLUMBIA, Mo. — For the first time in the 2024 season, the Missouri Tigers trailed at the end of the first half on Saturday night.

The electric offense on display in recent weeks suddenly collapsed against the Vanderbilt Commodores’ defense, which allowed just 10 points before halftime. Missed opportunities and poor communication plagued the Tigers, but one decision in particular caused the first real commotion of discord around Faurot Field: breaking the ball with eight seconds left in the second quarter.

With 4th-and-3 and the half nearly over, there was little point in going for it at first. And when Brady Cook was sacked by Khordae Sydnor for a loss of five yards — and gave the Commodores solid field position — it was almost certain Missouri would fall behind.

Brock Taylor attempted a field goal from 56 yards out to give Vanderbilt a 13-10 lead.

To avoid a shocking defeat in just its first conference game, Missouri’s offense needed a jumpstart, and fast. That just wasn’t going to come from the passing game.

Quarterback Brady Cook was underwhelming for much of the game, throwing for 226 passing yards, 23 of 37 completions and two touchdowns. The senior missed wide-open receivers too often for big gains, especially in the red zone. But beyond that, the offensive play calling seemed to be completely out of control.

When Cook was forced to run or run the ball, the outcome was no better. The normally strong rusher lacked the speed he had in previous games, made slow decisions and was tackled for loss.

Instead, Nate Noel and the running backs rose to the challenge.

At 8:49 in the third quarter, Noel exploded right past the Vanderbilt defense for a gain of 64 yards, setting up a score at the Commodores’ third-yard line. Marcus Carroll took the snap there, plowing up the middle to make it 20-13 on Blake Craig’s PAT attempt.

Of course, Noel was expected to finish the drive, but head coach Eli Drinkwitz and his staff decided to put the ball in Carroll’s hands. It may have been surprising, but that was no problem for Noel.

“I was happy for him,” Noel said. “I was the first one to jump to the sideline and meet him in the end zone. That’s my guy.”

Noel continued to make his presence known in the second half, consistently working his way through the Vanderbilt defense and picking up first downs. Even when the Tigers found themselves in another first of the season — an overtime — he continued to make an impact in the final stages.

Without Noel’s big day, it would have been difficult for Missouri to see light at the end of the tunnel.

“Nate Noel did a great job,” Cook said. “Without him, we don’t win the game… I’m just super happy for him.”

Noel didn’t score a touchdown on his nearly 200-yard day, but often the Tigers wouldn’t have been in scoring position if it weren’t for the sheer number of quality runs he had throughout the game. The red zone issues they had as a whole kept him from scoring, not his individual performance.

“Unbelievable,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s a special player, I think we all noticed that. We just have to keep finishing drives for him.”

Missouri has a lot of work to do before it travels to Texas A&M in two weeks, but for now it can be happy that it maintained a 4-0 record in a close game, thanks in large part to its running back room.