Mizzou Needs to Get Freshman QB More Comfortable Earlier in Games

The Tigers need to get their freshman quarterback into better situations earlier in the game to find more success on offense.

Nov 8, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Matt Zollers throws the ball in the Missouri matchup against Texas A&M at Faurot Field. | Sam Simon/MissouriOnSI

Matt Zollers' starting debut for the Missouri Tigers didn't exactly go according to plan against Texas A&M in Week 11. He was under constant pressure, made some arrant throws and, in general, Zollers was not able to move the ball down the field for the Missouri offense.

Not all of that was his fault, however.

In fact, most of it wasn't. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz was hasty to take responsibility for the lack of offensive success and general playcalling shortly after the game's conclusion. He doubled down on that on Tuesday, knowing that ups and downs should be expected for a freshman quarterback with a lack of experience like Zollers.

"It's unfair to expect Matt to carry the load," Drinkwitz told the media. "I've got to do my job of carrying the load for Matt. Our staff’s got to do their job, and then our whole team's got to continue to do their job.”

A good starting point for that would be getting Zollers into better situations early in the game while utilizing both the running and air game. That also means keeping Zollers out of scenarios, especially early, where he is forced to make a play.

Texas A&M's defense is known for its ability to push teams into third-and-long situations. That naturally was not ideal for Zollers and Missouri couldn't do much as a team to prevent it.

“For us, it's about getting comfortable earlier in the game and creating some easier opportunities for him to get into a rhythm," Drinkwitz said. "We never really got him into the rhythm offensively, and so we've got to do a better job of creating some offensive rhythm and not putting him in situations where he feels the entire pressure to play."

Drinkwitz attributed some of Zollers' growing pains to the amount of football that Zollers has played over the last two years. Zollers suffered a lower-body injury that ended his season. Though the recovery process went smoothly, he was not able to get going fully until fall camp.

"Matt didn't play a senior year because of an injury," Drinkwitz said. "[The] game against UCA and UL was the first time he's really played in, and then Vanderbilt. So I knew there was going to be some things that we got to continue to work on."

Though the Tigers did not put Zollers in the best situation possible against the Aggies, their defense is partially to blame. They've emerged as one of the best defensive units in the country this season, posing threats to all quarterbacks they face.

"It wasn't like he went against a real bad defense," center Connor Tollison said. "For that to be a first start, it's going to be tough for most guys. Being a freshman, I think he got some really good experience to go against the defense that good, and ultimately, he's going to build off of it."

Zollers will get another go at grabbing a win at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, when the Tigers host Mississippi State for their last home game of the season.