Final Review and Observations of Mizzou's Win Over Auburn

After taking a deeper look at Missouri's win over Auburn, the win was much less concerning than it initially looked inside the stress and pressure of the moment.

No, the Missouri offense still wasn't as consistent as it needed to be. Yes, the defense allowed some chunk plays and gave Auburn free yards with penalties late.

But overall, both sides of the ball made huge plays when they were needed most.

Here's the final notes from the win before Missouri moves onto Vanderbilt.

Player of the game: Defensive end Zion Young was relatively quiet for the first three quarters of the game. But by the fourth quarter and the beginning of overtime, he was incredibly loud. Literally at the coin toss, but also with his impact.

His sack on a third-down in the fourth quarter prevented Auburn from having the chance to extending their lead to two possessions. On Auburn's first possession of overtime, he sacked Arnold for a loss of nine on second down, putting Auburn in a difficult third-and-17 that it failed to convert. On Auburn's second possession of overtime, he had a tackle for a loss of three.

Young's late performance is the definition of what it means to be a game wrecker.

Play of the game: In the second half, Missouri completed just one of its six attempts to pass for a third-down conversion. But on its last one in a got-to-have-it situation, Pribula moved back in pressure to deliver a great pass to Kevin Coleman Jr. to keep Missouri's game-winning drive alive.

Stat of the game: Auburn scored touchdowns on just two of its five trips to the red zone. Even though Missouri's defense showed some fatigue that led to big chunk plays late in the game, MU's defense was excellent in situational moments.

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Auburn's lethal third-down package

Missouri Tigers quarterback Beau Pribula (9) throws the ball as Auburn Tigers take on Missouri Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Missouri Tigers lead Auburn Tigers 10-7 at halftime. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the third and fourth quarter, Missouri tried to convert all seven of its third downs by passing. Only one, a 10-yard completion to tight end Brett Norfleet in the third quarter was succesful.

On the others, Beau Pribula was under constant pressure. That was because of Auburn frequently sending heavy pressure with Cover 0 packages. Both of the interceptions Pribula threw were on third-and-longs.

"They had a third-down package that was tough to go against," Pribula said after the game. "They're bringing more than you can block, so you don't have a lot of time to throw the football."

Pribula admitted that Missouri did a poor job of staying on pace on first and second down to avoid third-and-longs that allowed Auburn to send heavy pressure. Five of those third downs in the final two quarters were of 10 or more yards.

Going forward, Missouri will have to do a much-better job of staying ahead of the sticks. Otherwise, other teams will not hesitate to send as much pressure as Auburn did.

...But, Kevin Coleman Jr. found a hole in the coverage

Auburn Tigers safety Sylvester Smith (19) breaks up a pass intended for Missouri Tigers wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. (3) as Auburn Tigers take on Missouri Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Missouri Tigers defeated the Auburn Tigers 23-17 in 2OT. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Missouri's biggest third-down of the game, Auburn brought the same heavy pressure look, but Pribula and wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. stepped up to deliver.

Coleman told reporters that he recognized in this third-down package that Auburn was playing man coverage and giving Missouri's receivers some separation in the interemdiate range.

"I told Beau, 'If they give that some coverage we've been getting like that all game, be ready to throw it,'" Coleman said. "I'd seen that coverage, and I knew I had to make the play."

Coleman recognizing this and being prepared for the look speaks to the experience he adds to Missouri's receiving room. It was also one of Pribula's best plays yet with Missouri.

Josiah Trotter literally hurdled a man

Instead of a speed or power, Missouri linebacker Josiah Trotter went completely outside of the box to get past Auburn running back Jay Crawford on the final play of the game. Crawford was simply a 5-foot-11 hurdle Trotter had to clear.

Edge rusher Damon Wilson II got to quarterback Jackson Arnold first, but Trotter crashed the pocket too in order to secure the win for Missouri.

MIZZOU WINS IT IN 2OT‼️

The Tigers are now 22-0 vs. unranked opponents since 2023 🐯 @MizzouFootball pic.twitter.com/we66L9v8vL
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 19, 2025

This was the program's first win at Auburn

Oct 18, 2025; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz celebrates after his team beat the Auburn Tigers in overtime at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images | John Reed-Imagn Images

The win ended a nearly 46-year drought of Missouri not winning in the state of Alabama. It's the first time ever the program has won in either Tuscaloosa, the home of the Crimson Tide, or Auburn. The last win in the state was the Hall of Fame Bowl in Birmingham, winning 24-14 over South Carolina.

The only time Missouri beat their eventual SEC-foes in the state was also in Birmingham, when MU took down Alabama in a 20-7 win to open the 1975 season.

Matt Zollers used his final game before losing his redshirt

Sept 13, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers back up quarterback Matt Zollers point out wide in the third quarter at Faurot Field. | Cal Tobias/MissouriOnSI

Once Sam Horn went down with injury in Week 1 and Zollers took over as the backup, this was the likely scenario. Though there's incentive to preserve a redshirt, especially for a quarterback, there's bound to be multiple games where your backup quarterback has to go in.

With true freshman Matt Zollers having to fill in for Beau Pribula on a play after Pribula's helmet fell off, Zollers has now appeared in the limit of four games in order to preserve a redshirt. If he appears in one more game this season, he'll lose that redshirt possibility.

Missouri got away from the outside zone in the run game early

Missouri Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy (29) runs the ball as Auburn Tigers take on Missouri Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Missouri Tigers defeated the Auburn Tigers 23-17 in 2OT. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The run game as a whole wasn't great for Missouri, averaging 2.1 yards on 44 attempts. Missouri was discouraged from its staple outside-zone run game early after and focused more on inside runs later. On the first outside run, Hardy was tackled for a loss of 4 yards.

“We kind of got away from the outside zone early on the first TFL," Drinkwitz said after the game. "We were trying to stay ahead of the chains."

Missouri stuck to its run game though, and that paid dividends in some moments — all three of MU's touchdowns were short rushing touchdowns.