COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Tigers have battled through adversity week after week this season

Potential starting quarterback Sam Horn and starting kicker Blake Craig both suffered season-ending injuries in the season opener, leaving a quarterback battle empty-handed and a backup freshman kicker to step up.

Missouri faced the Kansas Jayhawks for the first time in 14 years, and faced a 15-point deficit in the first half. They clawed back into the game, and took down their arch rivals 42-31 at home. 

Starting left tackle Cayden Green suffered a foot injury and missed the Tigers' first Southeastern Conference game against Dylan Stewart and the South Carolina Gamecocks. Backup swing tackle Jayven Richardson filled his place on short notice and let up zero sacks in Missouri's 29-20 victory. 

None of those challenges compare to what the Tigers faced Saturday. 

Starting quarterback Beau Pribula took a fourth down snap on the goal line and plunged forward to break the plane. He was met by a collection of Commodore defenders, and stopped short of the goal line – turnover on downs. 

The turnover was the least of the concerns. Pribula was slow to get up, and eventually was carted out. He had dislocated his ankle, and was likely out for the remainder of the season. 

Freshman backup Matt Zollers was forced to step up in the team's biggest moment of the season, and showed out. He threw for 138 yards and a touchdown while completing 14 of his 23 passes, and brought Missouri within inches of tying the game and sending it to overtime. 

"I was really proud of him, I thought he did an excellent job," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said on Zollers' fourth quarter efforts. "...I thought he played really big – the fourth down conversions to give us a chance, and then when they took the lead, to drive the ball down and score, I thought was really impressive."

Zollers' persevering play exemplified what the rest of the Tigers did in wake of Pribula's disheartening exit – fight. 

"We could have played our heads and lost by 25," starting center Connor Tollison said.  "But we stuck around, being inch away from tying the ball game. There's a lot of fight in these Tigers." 

They'll need to continue fighting, as their last four games are a tough quartet. Missouri will host No. 3 ranked Texas A&M for Week 11, follow it up with a second host against a feisty Mississippi State squad, then travel on the road for the Battle Line Rivalry against Arkansas and a ranked matchup with Oklahoma. 

The No. 19 Tigers sit at 6-2 on the season – bowl eligible, but likely ruled out of a conference championship game. 

"We're probably not playing for the conference championship now with two losses," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. "But we're darn sure playing for the playoffs."