The No. 15 Missouri Tigers’ 17–10 loss to No. 10 Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville on Saturday was overshadowed by a serious left ankle injury suffered by quarterback Beau Pribula.
The injury will keep Pribula out for the remainder of the regular season, though a postseason return has not been ruled out. He will undergo further testing tomorrow.
The injury occurred early in the third quarter on a fourth-and-goal rushing attempt from the 1-yard line. Pribula was stacked up by the Vanderbilt defense and twisted awkwardly under a pile. He remained on the turf as medical staff rushed in, later being fitted with an air cast and carted off the field before being wheeled into the locker room tunnel.
“Beau has no broken bones, but he did have an ankle injury that had to be popped back in,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said after the game. “Don't have a timetable for his return, but it could be a while.”
Before leaving the game, Pribula had completed 9 of 14 passes for 68 yards and added 10 rushing yards on four carries in what had been a defensive slugfest. For the season, the Penn State transfer had completed 70% of his passes (149-of-213) for 1,617 yards, 11 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while contributing 210 rushing yards and five rushing scores through seven games.
His absence forced true freshman Matt Zollers into action. The former four-star recruit from Spring-Ford High School (PA) began the season as the third-string quarterback. However, he moved up the depth chart after redshirt junior Sam Horn suffered a season-ending fractured tibia in the Week 1 win over Central Arkansas.
Zollers showed composure despite the circumstances, completing 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown. He led a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive to tie the game 10–10 early in the fourth quarter, connecting with freshman tight end Jude James for the score. Missouri’s final drive agonizingly almost forced overtime, but a Hail Mary pass to Kevin Coleman Jr. fell one yard short of the goal line as time expired.
The defeat dropped the Tigers to 6–2 overall (2–2 SEC), their second loss in three games, thereby finishing October with a 1–2 record. The team will now head into their bye week before hosting No. 3 Texas A&M on November 8 at Faurot Field.
