Mizzou QB Beau Pribula breaks a long run past the Alabama defense during Saturday’s SEC football game at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
| NCAA Football | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 Alabama (5-1, 3-0) | 7 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| #14 Mizzou (5-1, 1-1) | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
COLUMBIA, MO — In its showdown with No. 8-ranked Alabama, the University of Missouri football team trailed most of the day. But the Tigers had the ball and some momentum, in the final minutes, with a chance to win.
Unfortunately, the rally fell short with less than a minute to play, as the Tigers lost, 27-24, to the Crimson Tide in a key SEC football game at Faurot Field.
“Heartbreak and disappointment,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said afterward. “Disappointed in the result. Ultimately, we had too many mistakes in critical situations to win. This one is going to hurt and stick with us for a while.”
The number of mistakes Missouri made were plenty, beginning with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting on defensive team captain Zion Young on Alabama’s second offensive play. The Tigers had stopped the Tide for no yardage and negative yardage on those first two plays, but the penalty gave Alabama a first down near midfield.
The Tide would eventually score a touchdown that tied the score at 7 and wiped out Missouri’s thrilling opening drive start, where the Tigers went right down the field on six plays and scored to take a 7-0 lead.
Quarterback Beau Pribula made three dynamite plays on the drive, the third being a 26-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brett Norfleet.
“We came out ready to go and we knew we were gonna do something good right from the start,” Pribula said. “It was definitely an exciting start to the game.”
But Bama’s touchdown and then a targeting penalty on Mizzou on the Tide’s next drive took away all the momentum. Bama scored again, then added a field goal midway through the second quarter to go ahead 17-7.
Mizzou’s offense struggled for a good part of the day. But the Tigers did piece together a drive that led to a field goal on the final play of the second quarter that sent the game to halftime with Bama ahead 17-10.
Mizzou WR Marquis Johnson makes a leaping catch during the third quarter of the Tigers’ game against Alabama on Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
The Tigers came out roaring in the third quarter. The defense sacked Bama quarterback Ty Simpson and forced a fumble, which Mizzou recovered at the Tide 19-yard line.
Then, three plays later, Pribula made a spectacular 5-yard run for a touchdown that brought the sold-out Mizzou crowd to its feet and tied the score at 17.
“That was a great play by a great young player,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We knew he was good with his legs and with the ball in his hands. He showed it right there.”
The excitement was short-lived though. Alabama went on a 17-play, 65-yard drive, which included three third-down conversions and a fourth-down conversion, which led to a field goal that gave the Crimson Tide the lead again at 20-17.
Pribula threw an interception on Missouri’s next possession and then the Tigers were stopped on a fourth-down, fake-punt attempt on its possession after that, before Bama went ahead by 10, thanks to a touchdown pass from Simpson to Daniel Hill with 3:16 left in the game.
Mizzou responded with a touchdown drive of its own — a seven-play, 75-yard drive — which ended with a touchdown toss from Pribula to freshman Donovan Olugbode.
That pulled the Tigers to within three with 1:39 left. Mizzou still had three timeouts, so it knew it could still have a chance to tie or maybe win, if it could deny Alabama a first down and get itself possession of the ball.
The Tiger defense came through and pulled that off. Mizzou converted a fourth down, on a spectacular throw and catch from Pribula to Olugbode.
Unfortunately though, three plays later Pribula misfired on a throw, which was intercepted by the Tide, who were able to then able to run out the clock and close out the game.
“We didn’t come to play close,” Drinkwitz said. “We came to win. I’m not satisfied with playing them close. We have a good enough football team, but we turned it over twice, didn’t convert on third downs, and didn’t get off the field on third and fourth downs. That has to get corrected.”
Members of the Mizzou defense bring down Alabama’s quarterback for a sack during Saturday’s SEC football game at Faurot Field. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
The loss was Mizzou’s first of the season and first in SEC play this year. The No. 14-ranked Tigers are now 5-1 on the year and 1-1 in the conference.
Alabama is also 5-1, but is now 3-0 in the SEC, with all three of those wins coming against ranked SEC opponents. The Tide will play a fourth-straight ranked opponent next week, when they take on No. 11 Tennessee.
Mizzou will be on the road for the first time next week. The Tigers will be way down south, taking on Auburn, next Saturday night. Kickoff time has not been determined yet. It will either be at 6 p.m., and televised on ABC, or at 6:45 p.m., and televised on the SEC Network.
“We’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better,” Pribula said. “We’ve got to move past this one and learn from this and be better next week.”
SCORING SUMMARY
| Qtr | Team | Time | Description | BAMA | MIZ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | MIZ | 12:10 | MIZ – Norfleet, Brett 26 yd pass from Pribula, Beau (Meyer, Robert kick), 6 plays, 78 yards, TOP 02:43 | 0 | 7 |
| 1st | BAMA | 06:05 | BAMA – Riley, Kevin 6 yd pass from Simpson, Ty (Talty, Conor kick), 11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 05:58 | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | BAMA | 14:51 | BAMA – Horton, Isaiah 16 yd pass from Simpson, Ty (Talty, Conor kick), 10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 04:48 | 14 | 7 |
| 2nd | BAMA | 07:10 | BAMA – Talty, Conor 46 yd field goal, 9 plays, 40 yards, TOP 04:47 | 17 | 7 |
| 2nd | MIZ | 00:00 | MIZ – Meyer, Robert 35 yd field goal, 10 plays, 57 yards, TOP 03:32 | 17 | 10 |
| 3rd | MIZ | 13:18 | MIZ – Pribula, Beau 5 yd run (Meyer, Robert kick), 3 plays, 19 yards, TOP 01:27 | 17 | 17 |
| 3rd | BAMA | 00:09 | BAMA – Talty, Conor 22 yd field goal. 17 plays, 66 yards, TOP 09:00 | 20 | 17 |
| 4th | BAMA | 03:16 | BAMA – Hill, Daniel 1 yd pass from Simpson, Ty (Talty, Conor kick), 8 plays, 40 yards, TOP 03:46 | 27 | 17 |
| 4th | MIZ | 01:39 | MIZ – Olugbode, Donovan 3 yd pass from Pribula, Beau (Meyer, Robert kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:37 | 27 | 24 |
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 | W, 42-31 (2-0) |
| September 13, 2025 (Saturday) | 12 pm | Home | Louisiana | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | W, 52-10 (3-0) |
| September 20, 2025 (Saturday) | 6 pm | Home | South Carolina | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | W, 29-20 (4-0) |
| September 27, 2025 (Saturday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Massachusetts | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | W, 42-6 (5-0) |
| October 11, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 am | Home | #8 Alabama | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | L, 27-24 (5-1) |
| October 18, 2025 (Saturday) | 6 pm or 6:30 pm | 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 | 11 am | Tiger Radio Network | |
| November 29, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. / Razorback Stadium | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |