NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No one could have predicted a lot of things that happened in a chaotic game Saturday in Music City, but the doubt around Missouri’s quarterback situation might be the biggest mystery of all.
On fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line with 11:15 left in the third quarter, quarterback Beau Pribula was stuffed on a QB keeper by the Vanderbilt defense. Instead of hopping up and off the field as he typically does, the junior remained down as trainers and a cart rushed to his aid. Medical staff put an air cast on Pribula’s left leg after a few minutes, and he proceeded to hop up on his right to be driven to the locker room.
Following the 17-10 loss, Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz told reporters that Pribula has no broken bones but suffered an ankle dislocation that had to be put back in place. Drinkwitz didn’t have a timetable for Pribula’s return, saying only that it could be “a while.”
Shortly after the press conference wrapped, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported that Pribula will “at the very least” miss the rest of the regular season, which ends Nov. 29 at Arkansas. The report added that Pribula is set to undergo further testing Sunday to learn the full extent of the damage.
In a matter of seconds, the course of the rest of this Mizzou season might have shifted drastically. First it was Sam Horn’s ACL tear against Central Arkansas that affected the quarterback room. Now, Mizzou is looking at facing the rest of this season with true freshman Matt Zollers running the offense.
“You never want to see the opportunity to play football be stripped away,” center Connor Tollison said. “I was (in) the same situation last year, and it’s not fun. I have a lot of heart for him.”
When Pribula left the game, the score was 3-3. Now down their top two quarterback options on the depth chart, the Tigers called on Zollers to lead the charge. In a game with considerable College Football Playoff implications, the pressure was intense for the inexperienced signal-caller.
Given the situation, Zollers acquitted himself well. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards, which included a 6-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman tight end Jude James at the start of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 10-10.
“Courage, fearlessness ... . He did everything he could when his number was called,” Tollison said. “Ultimately, that’s all you can ask for a guy like that.”
Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia dived into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown to give his team a 17-10 lead with 1:52 remaining. Missouri was able to make a late push with limited time. Zollers hit receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. for a 36-yard Hail Mary, but as fate would have it, he was just short of the end zone as time expired.
While No. 15 Mizzou (6-2, 2-2) could have been better in other areas — notably by cleaning up its season-high eight total penalties — taking down the No. 10 Commodores without Pribula was always going to be an uphill climb. The chance at competing in the Southeastern Conference Championship is dimmer, and reaching the CFP gets a whole lot more complicated.
Adding Pribula’s injury makes Mizzou’s title hopes even fainter.
“There’s gonna be a lot of negativity based off of the injuries and all that,” Drinkwitz said. “They’ve just got to fight. As a group, we’ve got to rally together and find a way to keep moving forward. There’s still a lot of football left, a lot of opportunities left.
“We’re probably not playing for the conference championship now with two losses, but we’re darn sure playing for the playoffs.”
Getting into the field of 12 is going to be a challenge, but Mizzou will have a bye week to regroup from the injury and set its course for the final four games.
The remaining games: No. 3 Texas A&M at home, Mississippi State at home, No. 13 Oklahoma on the road and Arkansas on the road. The margin for error is quite small for Missouri at this point.
Vanderbilt has a clearer path by far: No. 22 Texas on the road, Auburn at home, Kentucky at home and No. 17 Tennessee on the road. Now with a 7-1 record, the Commodores have some cushion.
ESPN’s playoff predictor gave Mizzou a 53% chance to make it with a win over Vanderbilt but only a 16% chance with a loss. That percentage might dip without Pribula for the next few weeks.
“We’ve already accomplished one of our goals, which was to qualify for a bowl game,” Drinkwitz said. “So now it’s free football to see what kind of opportunity we have next. We’ll take it one play, one game, one day at a time, and we’ll see what happens.
“They’re going to be hurt, disappointed. We’re all going to be, because we put a lot into these games. But they’ve got a lot to be proud of, too.”
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