Teammates celebrate with new quarterback Beau Pribula, following one of his two touchdown runs in Mizzou’s blowout win over Central Arkansas on Thursday. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
| NCAA Football | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Arkansas (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Mizzou (1-0) | 9 | 17 | 14 | 21 | 61 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
COLUMBIA, MO — The University of Missouri football team got the 2025 season off to a roaring start on Thursday, when it annihilated Central Arkansas, 61-6, in a matchup in front of a sold out crowd of 57,321 at Faurot Field.
The Tigers dominated every facet of the game, from outgaining the visiting Bears 560 yards to 227, to converting nine-of-13 third downs and one fourth down, while holding Central Arkansas to just two-of-13 third down tries, and forcing two turnovers and not giving up any of their own.
“It was an exciting night for all our guys, to finally get out there and play against an opponent,” Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “It was tough though. We suffered a couple of injuries that we’re disappointed about. But overall it was a great night for us.”
The injuries Drinkwitz referenced were to backup quarterback Sam Horn and starting kicker Blake Craig. No one with Mizzou had a full update on either injury, but bother players had to be helped back to the locker room during the game and neither returned after halftime.
Horn, who is also a member of Mizzou’s baseball team, has suffered a number of injuries during his time in Columbia and finally seemed to headed to a healthy season with the Tigers.
“Yeah, just devastated,” Drinkwitz on the team’s reaction to Horn’s injury. “You know, he was voted captain because his teammates cared about him. And you hurt for a young man, because last year was taken away from him, for a different reason. And now this year, he’s going to have to face another injury and don’t know how long it’ll be. There’s something that wears you down mentally in those things, and so, can’t second-guess it. You just got to face it every day and we’ll face it with him. But I know, he’s really close with (center) Connor (Tollison) and Brett, and I know him and (EDGE) Zion (Young) are really close, and they were hugging it out at halftime. So, we’re all really disappointed.”
Junior WR Marquis Johnson makes the catch for a 49-yard touchdown in Mizzou’s win over Central Arkansas on Thursday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
Horn and Penn State transfer Beau Pribula were battling for the starting quarterback job and Drinkwitz said he wouldn’t name an official starter until after the season opener had been played. Horn’s injury leaves no doubt who the starter is now. Even without it though, Pribula had probably already won the job following a shining star performance on Thursday.
The 6-foot-2, 212-pounder from York, Pa., was sensational in his Missouri debut — passing for 283 yards on 23 completions, with two passing touchdowns, while also rushing for 65 yards and two more scores, including a breathtaking 31-yard touchdown scramble midway through the second quarter that put the Tigers up 19-0.
Mizzou took the lead on just its fifth play of the game, when Pribula found junior receiver Marquis Johnson for a 49-yard touchdown. Missouri failed on a two-point conversion attempt, but then added a pair of long field goals by Craig to go up 12-0.
That set the stage for Pribula’s 31-yard scoring rumble through the Central Arkansas defense. Then, just before halftime, Pribula found junior tight end Brett Norfleet for a 1-yard touchdown that sent the Tigers into the halftime break with a 26-0 lead.
Mizzou freshman Jude James gets pushed out of bounds, just after he crossed the goal line for a touchdown in the Tigers’ win over Central Arkansas. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
The second half was even more Mizzou dominance, especially by the Tiger defense, which held Central Arkansas to just two first downs until midway through the fourth quarter.
Linebacker Josiah Trotter led Mizzou with nine tackles, including two crowd-thrilling big hits for lost yardage that stopped UCA on a pair of back-to-back third downs.
“I feel like overall, especially as a defense, we did a great job,” linebacker Josiah Trotter, who had eight tackles and a tackle for loss said. “When a team can’t score. I mean, at the end of the game, they were able to score. At the end of the day, you don’t want them to get in the end zone, but a lot of things we can continue to clean up on, continue to get better at, but it’s a great starting point for the first game for this defense. And each and every single day, each game, we just have to keep turning it up a notch.”
Mizzou defenders Damon Wilson (8) and Nick Rodriguez (20) celebrate after making a stop in the Tigers’ win over Central Arkansas on Thursday. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
New Mizzou running back Ahmad Hardy scored his first touchdown as a Tiger on a 4-yard run early in the third, which was followed by a 1-yard touchdown on a bootleg run by Pribula that put Missouri up 40-0.
Freshman QB Matt Zollers came in in the fourth quarter and threw his first collegiate touchdown, when he found fellow freshman tight end Jude James for 40-yard score early in the fourth.
Another freshman, running back Marquise Davis, also scored his first college touchdown — on a 3-yard run — midway through the fourth.
The first-year college player fun wasn’t over though, because linebacker Dante McClellan intercepted a pass and returned it 83 yards for a touchdown that put Mizzou over 60 points for the first time since it scored 72 points in a win over Missouri State in 2017.
“I thought we had a great night, but I (still) there are still some things that we’ve got to do a little bit better,” Drinkwitz said. “I didn’t think we were physical enough on the perimeter. We gave up to many first down yards, you know, on first down runs.”
The Tigers will get their chance to improve and be more physical when they host “The Border War” against archrival Kansas, next Saturday, September 6, at Faurot Field. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
It will be the 121st all-time meeting between the Tigers and Jayhawks and the first time the teams have met at Faurot Field since 2006.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | C. Ark | MIZ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 11:06 | MIZ – Johnson, Marquis 49 yd pass from Pribula,Beau (2-pt attempt failed) 4 plays, 64 yards, TOP 02:12 | 0 | 6 |
| 1st | 02:22 | MIZ – Craig, Blake 49 yd field goal 10 plays, 50 yards, TOP 04:29 | 0 | 9 |
| 2nd | 09:33 | MIZ – Craig, Blake 55 yd field goal 14 plays, 35 yards, TOP 06:05 | 0 | 12 |
| 2nd | 06:48 | MIZ – Pribula, Beau 31 yd run (Craig, Blake kick), 2 plays, 33 yards, TOP 00:53 | 0 | 19 |
| 2nd | 00:08 | MIZ – Norfleet, Brett 1 yd pass from Pribula, Beau (Craig, Blake kick) 15 plays, 99 yards, TOP 03:30 | 0 | 26 |
| 3rd | 11:23 | MIZ – Hardy, Ahmad 4 yd run (Craig, Blake kick), 7 plays, 85 yards, TOP 03:27 | 0 | 33 |
| 3rd | 04:54 | MIZ – Pribula, Beau 1 yd run (Meyer, Robert kick), 7 plays, 99 yards, TOP 03:09 | 0 | 40 |
| 4th | 11:05 | MIZ – James, Jude 40 yd pass from Zollers, Matt (Meyer, Robert kick) 4 plays, 54 yards, TOP 01:51 | 0 | 47 |
| 4th | 07:32 | MIZ – Davis, Marquise 3 yd run (Meyer, Robert kick), 4 plays, 14 yards, TOP 02:00 | 0 | 54 |
| 4th | 02:48 | MIZ – McClellan, Dante 83 yd interception return (Meyer, Robert kick) | 0 | 61 |
| 4th | 00:22 | UCA – Smith, Manny 3 yd pass from Richesson, Luther (2-pt conversion failed) 10 plays, 63 yards, TOP 02:21 | 6 | 61 |
2025 MIZZOU TIGERS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 28, 2025 (Thursday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Central Arkansas | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | W 61-6 (1-0) |
| September 6, 2025 (Saturday) | 2:30 pm | Home | Kansas | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | |
| September 13, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Louisiana | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | |
| September 20, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | South Carolina | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network | |
| September 27, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | Massachusetts | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network | |
| October 11, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 am | Home | Alabama | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network | |
| October 18, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Away | Auburn | Auburn, Ala. / Jordan-Hare Stadium | TBD | Tiger Radio Network | |
| October 25, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Away | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. / FirstBank Stadium | TBD | Tiger Radio Network | |
| November 8, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | Texas A&M | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network | |
| November 15, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | Mississippi State | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network | |
| November 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 am | Away | Oklahoma | Norman, Okla. / Memorial Stadium | TBD | Tiger Radio Network | |
| November 29, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. / Razorback Stadium | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |