Instant Reaction from No. 15 Mizzou's Loss to No. 10 Vanderbilt

Watch the video below as Missouri football reporters Joey Van Zummeren and Michael Stamps give their initial thoughts on No. 15 Missouri's loss to No. 10 Vanderbilt.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 15 Missouri's road trip to Nashville ended in heartbreak, falling 17-10 to No. 10 Vanderbilt and dropping their second game of the season.

What makes the loss so odd is how good the Tigers played. Truth be told, Missouri played arguably its best game of the season, but failed to execute in a few major moments.

It seems odd because all of the focus is on quarterback Beau Pribula, who went down in the third quarter with an ankle injury, according to head coach Eli Drinkwitz. Pribula is now expected to miss significant time, which thrust Matt Zollers into the spotlight.

All things considered, Zollers played well. He gave the Tigers a chance down to the last few seconds of the game, which ended on a completed Hail Mary attempt that left wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. at the 1-yard line.

"(He had) fourth-down conversions to give us a chance, and then when they took the lead, to drive the ball down and score was really impressive," Drinkwitz said following the loss. "So, the moment wasn't too big for him."

Zollers finished the game with 138 passing yards and a touchdown on 14-for-23 passing. He also completed multiple big throws in the fourth quarter, including big throws to Joshua Manning and Coleman.

Penalties were a big momentum killer for the Tigers. They committed eight for 88 yards, along with two in the final drive. One of those was a tripping penalty called on center Connor Tollison, followed by a false start on right guard Curtis Peagler and an intentional grounding on Zollers.

Vanderbilt also committed eight penalties, but only for 83 yards.

For the most part, Missouri's defense played very well. If they didn't allow a n80-yard touchdown courtesy of running back Makhilyn Young, the Tiger defense would've had the best game they've played all season, if they didn't already.

But they did allow that run, and that play completely shifted momentum in the game.

"That play (was) really disappointing because I thought we pretty much held them in check the entire game," Drinkwitz said. "They had no green room. We just put them in a bad spot on that last fumble."

Missouri has the next week off with a bye week, which will be followed by a ranked matchup against No. 3 Texas A&M the week after.

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