Inches short; still miles away: Mizzou loses heartbreaker at Vandy as Pribula suffers serious ankle injury

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Many artists come to Music City with a dream. A hope that, in a city full of stars, they can become one themselves.

Likewise, Mizzou went to Nashville’s FirstBank Stadium with a dream Saturday. A hope that, in a sport with a plethora of College Football Playoff contenders, the Tigers could become one themselves.

The thing about dreams, however, is that they seldom turn out exactly as imagined, and Saturday was a good case in point.

In a 17-10 loss to Vanderbilt, Mizzou’s hopes of a national title took a major hit, as the possibilities of appearing in the SEC title game and the College Football Playoff became considerably dimmer.

The Tigers desperately tried to keep those dreams alive late in the fourth quarter, but a Hail Mary attempt fell inches short at the buzzer: Kevin Coleman Jr. caught it with part of his body in the end zone, but the ball was just outside it.

The Tigers faced plenty of adversity Saturday, but the biggest wrench thrown at them involved their starting quarterback. After getting stuffed on a quarterback sneak early in the third quarter, Beau Pribula remained down on the field for several minutes. Eventually, an air cast was put on his left leg. He was carted off the field then assisted into a wheelchair and taken to Mizzou’s locker room.

After the game, Drinkwitz said Pribula had dislocated his ankle and could be out “for a while.” CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz later reported that Pribula will “at the very least” miss the rest of the regular season.

An MRI will be conducted Sunday to determine the full extent of the damage.

“You never want to see the opportunity to play football be stripped away,” said center Connor Tollison, who tore a knee ligament against Oklahoma last season. “I was in the same situation last year, and it’s not fun.”

Making his first appearance of the season in a big-time spot, freshman Matt Zollers filled in admirably. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown, including a howitzer on fourth-and-4 to Josh Manning that kept a promising drive alive.

“It’s really not a surprise to me,” defensive back Daylan Carnell said. “He preps like he’s the starter every week. All through camp, we’d seen his arm talent and what he could do.”

But moments later, Robert Meyer doinked a 29-yard field goal off the left upright. On Vanderbilt’s first play following the miss, Makhilyn Young raced down the right sideline for an 80-yard touchdown. In the span of two plays, Mizzou went from a likely lead to a seven-point deficit that felt like more considering how slowly both offenses were moving.

The team with 11 wins in its last 13 one-possession games entering Saturday didn’t quit. With Ahmad Hardy trucking along and Zollers hitting open receivers, the Tigers capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Zollers to tight end Jude James on fourth down.

“He did everything he could when his number was called,” Tollison said of Zollers. “Ultimately, that’s all you can ask for.”

After MU’s defense forced a punt, the Tigers drove the ball close to midfield. The ensuing fumble came in awkward fashion: Zollers bobbled an inside handoff to Roberts, and blitzing Vanderbilt safety CJ Heard got in between them and stole the ball. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia would punch in the eventual game-winning touchdown on the ensuing drive.

Mizzou also struggled with penalties, as the Tigers were called for eight that were accepted, tied for their most this season.

“I’m not saying there were good calls and bad calls. We were just on the wrong end of the flags most of the day,” Drinkwitz said. “We score an early touchdown, they call it tripping. Right, wrong, whatever, I don’t know. But it just seemed like every time we got something, ... . We got the first down right at the end of half, we got a holding call.

“We were behind the yellow flags most of the day. That stuff, we’re going to have to, in close games, we’re going to have to fix.”

While the unexpected made its way to Nashville, the Tigers mostly remained true to themselves, sticking to a run-first, defensive identity that had helped them forge a 6-1 start to the season.

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Outside of the long house call by Young, the front seven largely contained the Commodores. Facing an offense that had averaged 6.32 yards per carry entering Saturday (No. 4 in the FBS), the Tigers allowed just 56 rushing yards on the 25 other carries minus Young’s long dash.

“That play is really disappointing,” Drinkwitz said, “because I thought we’d pretty much held them in check the entire game. They had no breathing room.”

Succeeding against subpar rushing attacks like those of South Carolina and Alabama is one thing, but to do so against Vanderbilt, which had torn up several defenses on the ground, is an accomplishment.

The unit also came away with what appeared to be a game-swinging interception. Deep in Vanderbilt territory, Chris McClellan batted a Pavia pass into the air, and Damon Wilson II came down with it. But on the ensuing drive, Pribula was stuffed and injured.

Neither offense could establish a rhythm early on.

Mizzou’s defensive line was dominating the first few possessions. Outside of a few explosive plays through the air and a 13-yard scramble from Pavia, production was scarce for an offense that had averaged over 41 points per game entering Saturday.

On the other side, the Tigers looked like a poorly oiled machine. Hardy and Jamal Roberts weren’t getting stonewalled like they were against Auburn, but the aerial attack couldn’t find a rhythm, which played a major part in Mizzou punting on its first three possessions.

Hardy eventually found a decent rhythm, finishing with 20 carries for 97 yards.

Another answer was getting Coleman the ball. His production took a dip against Auburn and Alabama, as his five combined catches were his fewest across consecutive games since 2023. But he was responsible for some of Mizzou’s biggest plays of the game, which included a 21-yard reception early in the second quarter and a 34-yard scamper down the right sideline on a Wildcat play. He also came down with a fourth-down reception late that kept the Tigers alive. He finished with 153 total yards.

“He did a great job of being big when we needed him to be big,” Drinkwitz said. “He was a difference-maker.”

But in the end, the Commodores did just enough, and the Tigers left Nashville to the tune of honky-tonk blues, likely without their starting quarterback for a long time. Running the table is likely required for a College Football Playoff appearance, and MU will have to do it with a true freshman quarterback. In addition to Pribula’s injury, the Tigers lost quarterback Sam Horn to a fractured right tibia in their first game.

Mizzou came to Music City with a dream. That dream was beaten down by night’s end.

“They’re going to be hurt, disappointed. We’re all going to be, because we put a lot into these games,” Drinkwitz said. “But they’ve got a lot to be proud of, too.”