On Saturday, Missouri football suffered more than just a critical loss for its SEC Championship and College Football Playoff hopes. Sure, a loss to Vanderbilt didn't help matters in either of those departments, but an injury to quarterback Beau Pribula cast a dark cloud over the entire contest for the Tigers.
Pribula suffered what appeared to be a serious lower leg injury on a fourth-and-goal run during the third quarter. The dual-threat signal caller was stopped short of the goal line and saw his lower leg caught under the pile before he was bent backwards awkwardly.
Pribula's left leg was put in an air cast and he was carted off the field, which is almost always an indicator of an injury that is potentially season-ending. However, Missouri may have gotten lucky in this case, as it appears that Pribula is dealing with an injury that will not require surgery and he could return this season, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.
“Further testing revealed a bad sprain and ligament damage, but no surgery necessary and there’s maybe even an outside chance he could return during the regular season, sources tell @CBSSports,” Zenitz reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Freshman quarterback Matt Zollers took Pribula's place on Saturday and did an admirable job, completing 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown, but he doesn't provide the same threat on the ground that the Penn State transfer does. Because of that ability and versatility, Eli Drinkwitz and company would certainly welcome Pribula back if he can play at some point this season.
This is not the first time Missouri has dealt with quarterback injuries in 2025. Sam Horn, who spent much of fall camp battling with Pribula for the starting job, suffered a season-ending injury in Missouri's season-opener. Now, the Tigers are down to their third quarterback for the time being as they likely need to win out to keep their CFP hopes alive.
That will not be an easy task for Missouri, which hosts undefeated and No. 3-ranked Texas A&M in Week 11 after a bye in Week 10. The Tigers also have a road game against Oklahoma still on the schedule, so Zollers and this offense will be tested while Pribula is sidelined.
