A Border War comeback showed exactly why Eli Drinkwitz brought Beau Pribula to Mizzou
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At some point during Mizzou’s largest comeback win in 9 years, I imagine that Eli Drinkwitz tapped into his inner-Billy Madison and said something that was on the mind of Tigers fans near and far.
“Man, I’m glad I called that guy.”
“That guy” was Beau Pribula. As in, the current Mizzou and former Penn State backup quarterback who was the subject of think pieces everywhere when he left the Playoff-bound Nittany Lions to join Drinkwitz’s program. Pribula was used in a unique, run-heavy role that asked him to attempt just 4 passes that traveled 20 yards past the line of scrimmage in 2024. Questions about Pribula’s passing game were, by all accounts, fair.
So, too, was Drinkwitz’s faith in his evaluation. We saw that play out on Saturday in an epic, long overdue chapter of the Border War.
Pribula and an elite Mizzou rushing attack fueled a 42-31 victory against Kansas. Yes, the latter put it away. Mizzou running back Jamal Roberts put the exclamation point on Mizzou’s comeback win after a first quarter that put the Tigers in their largest home deficit (15 points) since Oct. 16, 2021 vs. Texas A&M. And yes, part of Mizzou’s early deficit was the byproduct of Pribula not putting 2 hands on the ball on a scramble, which resulted in a Kansas scoop-and-score.
Outside of that, though? How could you not be impressed with Pribula?
That’s not the type of game that Mizzou was expected to be involved in. Like, a shootout with 39 pass attempts from Pribula, 30 of which were completed for 334 yards. That smashed his previous highs in all 3 categories. Before 2025, Pribula’s career-high in pass attempts was exactly 1/3 of that (13), which happened when Penn State starter Drew Allar got hurt at Wisconsin last year.
It’s silly to compare anything Pribula did at Penn State to what he’s being asked to do this year as Mizzou’s QB1. Converting on 4th down and moving the chains with his arm wasn’t exactly his role at Penn State. He came to Mizzou knowing that would be part of the gig. A big part of the gig.
On Saturday, he fueled a 4-for-5 4th-down conversion rate, which included darts to Kevin Coleman Jr. and patient throws in the flat to tight end Brett Norfleet, who hauled in a pair of go-ahead touchdowns.
That’s faith in scheme and trusting that even with a free rusher barreling down on him, he’d have his tight end set up with room to run.
Speaking of Norfleet, Pribula’s 3rd-and-goal throw to him from the 11-yard line might’ve been the most “glad I called that guy” throw of the day. Pribula threaded the needle that led to Mizzou taking the lead late in the 3rd quarter.
Pribula made plenty of throws like that. He layered throws to Coleman, he didn’t look reluctant attacking downfield and once again, he showed why he’s already one of the more effective running quarterbacks in the sport.
A 1-dimensional Pribula doesn’t lead Mizzou in a game like that. Not with how many crucial spots he faced. Pribula and the Tigers offense converted a combined 14-of-24 3rd/4th downs. That wasn’t an accident. Pribula might’ve had that “first start vs. a Power Conference team” moment on that early fumble, but he did a better job of protecting the ball — and himself — than his counterpart, Jalon Daniels, who has the unique distinction of being the only FBS quarterback who started at least 1 game in each of the last 6 seasons. But like Pribula, Daniels had a fumble when he was taken down with 1 hand on the ball.
It was clear, though. Pribula had more help than Daniels.
Mizzou’s defense might not have had a vintage game, but take away the scoop-and-score and it allowed 24 points and just 254 yards of offense. And Pribula didn’t need a heroic rushing performance because Roberts and Ahmad Hardy had a combined 243 yards on 35 carries. Could some of that be attributed to the threat of Pribula’s legs and the growing emergence of the Mizzou passing game? You bet.
That’s what Mizzou needed to establish in the first part of this season with a favorable schedule. That schedule won’t force Mizzou to play in a road game until Week 8, nor will the Tigers face a 2024 Playoff team. The runway is there. It would’ve looked much murkier with a loss at home to Kansas.
No worry. Pribula and Co. took care of that.
Nobody will crown Mizzou for beating a historic bottom feeder like Kansas, who has been a much tougher out under Lance Leipold. Pribula might not be considered a household name just yet. After all, multiple College GameDay analysts incorrectly said his last name when their making picks.
More performances like Saturday will take care of that problem.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
