COLUMBIA, Mo. – Sputtering its engine to the finish line against a 2-9 Arkansas squad with no playoff implications was probably not the way Missouri – or you – imagined this season to end.
You could feel disappointed, angry, sad or anything else under the umbrella of negative feelings toward the program.
But let's pump the brakes.
If you were told ahead of Week 1 that Matt Zollers would start two conference games, Eli Drinkwitz' name would be circulated in other head coaching job openings, both Sam Horn and Blake Craig would miss nearly the entire season with injuries, Missouri would be down 21-6 in the first quarter against Kansas, and Beau Pribula would pass for 25 yards in a game against the worst defense in the Southeastern Conference, what would you have guessed the Tigers record to be?
6-6? 4-8? Even worse, at the bottom of the SEC?
Try 8-4 with a bowl game awaiting them in a month's time.
Missouri's 2025 season didn't go to according to plan – it probably didn't even go according to the backup plan. But my goodness did it battle through and drag itself to the finish line with a far better final result than what could have been.
"The goal that we set out to start the season got taken away from us," Drinkwitz said. You never know what kind adversity you're going to face. You got to find a way to salvage it. I thought our guys really did that. That's why I said it was a good season."
Still, Drinkwitz acknowledges the room for improvement his team has to make. Missouri finished the season winless in its four games against ranked SEC opponents, and didn't solidify itself as a powerhouse in the conference like it was so close to doing following its electric 2023 season.
Although the 2025 season could be viewed as a setback, Drinkwitz believes his team is still close – the Tigers improve around the margins and they could take that leap.
"I think it's a good season," Drinkwitz said. "It's not great. We had a chance to go to great. We didn't get it done... we've got to find those inches."
Drinkwitz' reference to inches could apply to internal and external roster improvements, scheme changes or anything else under the roster-building umbrella. But it also applies in a literal manner – Missouri was mere inches away from stunning Vanderbilt in what would have been a miracle win given the circumstances.
Missouri traveled to Nashville for a College Gameday, underdog matchup against Vanderbilt on Oct. 25. Tied at 3-3 in the beginning of the third quarter, Pribula plunged toward the goal line on a fourth-down quarterback power, but was instead wrangled down by a pair of Commodore defenders, stuffing him short of the end zone and injuring him in the process.
True freshman quarterback Matt Zollers entered the game in his place, and and drug Missouri in position to tie the game at 17 a piece with seconds left on the game clock. He fired a 36-yard pass toward Kevin Coleman Jr., who somehow hauled in the catch, but was short of the goal line.
By how much, you ask? Literal inches. Not even a foot.
That play could be used as a microcosm for Missouri's season: A battle through unexpected adversity, ending just short of being great, but a good performance nonetheless.
Now, Missouri lost three more conference games this season too, but that same narrative still applies.
The Tigers lost by one possession to No. 8 Alabama in Pribula's first ever SEC start. The game came down to the final play, which, yes, was a Pribula interception, but proved the Tigers were in position to potentially win it with seconds left on the clock. That was a massive improvement from the 34-0 bludgeoning it was handed to by the Crimson Tide just a season ago.
Pribula's aforementioned injury suffered against Vanderbilt also kept him out for Missouri's home matchup against Texas A&M, who were undefeated at the time and had beat Missouri 41-10 in the 2024 season. Instead of Pribula captaining the offense, it would instead be Zollers, who was making his first collegiate career start on two weeks notice against the No.-3-ranked team in the nation.
Missouri actually kept it to a one-score game for the majority of the first half, but a miscalculated punt-return defense allowed the Aggies to gain 48 yards on a fake punt and break open the offensive floodgates, eventually bringing the final score to 38-17.
The Tigers were blown out once again, but that was a nightmare scenario for Zollers and the staff, who tried their best to make a drinkable lemonade out of rotten lemons.
"I felt like our players laid it on the line," Drinkwitz said. "Players fought, and fought and fought, and gave us every chance in the world."
As for Missouri's fourth and final regular-season loss, it came at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, where the Tigers haven't won a football game in 59 seasons. Pribula, recovering from his ankle injury far earlier than originally expected, was named the surprise starter just days before the game.
Unfortunately for Pribula and Missouri, his heroic efforts weren't enough. Missouri hung in the game and had the chance to bring it to a one-possession game with 5:40 remaining, but once again came up inches short. A fourth-down pass toward Coleman in the end zone bobbled off his fingertips before landing on the ground, essentially ending the game by giving the ball back to the Sooners.
Each of Missouri's four losses this season came at the hands of ranked opponents, with Missouri battling unpredictable adversity and odds stacked against it. The Tigers were not only inches short of a few more victories, they were inches short of taking the leap to greatness.
Actually, they still are, and Drinkwitz signing a contract extension to stick with the program through the 2031 season solidifies that. Missouri is a work-in-progress, much like the construction on its stadium.
The North end zone of Memorial Stadium was torn down and partially rebuilt throughout the 2025 season. The view was ugly, dirt and rubble acting as the backdrop to Ahmad Hardy's highlight touchdowns, but it stuck around for the entire season.
That won't be the case next season.
The construction is projected to finish, and rebuild the North side of Memorial Stadium better than before, matching the likes of other historic SEC stadiums. Around the same time, you can expect fully-charged Missouri team, more poised to compete for a College Football Playoff spot than ever before under Drinkwitz, to begin its season, and its leap from good to great at the same time.
"That North end zone isn't completed, and so my job here is not completed yet," Drinkwitz texted to Director of Athletics Laird Veatch. "Let's finish this thing the way we want to finish it."