Vanderbilt stops Missouri Hail Mary at goal line to bolster College Football Playoff dream
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In maybe the biggest game Vanderbilt has ever hosted, Diego Pavia and the No. 10 Commodores out-slugged No. 15 Missouri on Saturday to stay right in the thick of the SEC and College Football Playoff races.
Vanderbilt held on for the 17-10 win when Missouri freshman backup quarterback Matt Zollers’ Hail Mary heave was caught by Kevin Coleman Jr. just short of the end zone. The celebration was delayed for one last look at the replay, which confirmed Vanderbilt’s first victory in a matchup of two AP top-15 teams at the time of the game.
MIZZOU WAS ONE YARD SHORT OF THE HAIL MARY 😱
Vandy comes out with the win 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0YEXo033Io
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 25, 2025
Pavia dove into the end zone from a yard out with 1:52 remaining, and Vanderbilt made one last defensive stand against the Tigers (6-2, 2-2) and Zollers, who replaced the injured Beau Pribula in the third quarter.
Vandy (7-1, 3-1 SEC) was playing as a top-10 team for the first time since 1947 and hosting a top-15 matchup for the first time since 1937. ESPN’s “College GameDay” came to campus for the first time since 2008 to shine a spotlight on Pavia, a Heisman Trophy contender and one of college football’s best stories. It made Missouri feel like an afterthought on this day, at least until kickoff.
The teams traded field goals in the first half, but Mizzou was positioned to finally crack the end zone after Damon Wilson II intercepted a tipped Pavia pass deep in Vandy territory. The Tigers got to fourth-and-goal at 2 and ran Pribula, who was stopped inside the 1 and stayed down. The Penn State transfer was carted off the field with an aircast on his lower left leg.
Pribula has started every game this season for the Tigers. The fourth-year quarterback came into the game with 11 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and five rushing touchdowns. He was replaced by Zollers, a freshman and fellow Pennsylvania native who entered the game having completed all six of his passes in four appearances.
Zollers led the Tigers into the Vandy red zone on his first series, but Robert Meyer slammed a 29-yard field goal attempt into the left upright to keep the score 3-3. On the next play, Vanderbilt’s Makhilyn Young bounced a run to the outside and raced 80 yards for a touchdown to put the Commodores up 10-3 with 3:51 left in the third quarter.
80 YARD TOUCDOWN. MK YOUNG. pic.twitter.com/ZpwgYhEFi8
— #10 Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) October 25, 2025
Zollers and Mizzou responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive, with star tailback Ahmad Hardy providing plenty of support. Zollers found Jude James for a 6-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to tie it at 10.
After a Vanderbilt three-and-out, defensive back CJ Heard blitzed off the edge, met Jamal Roberts at the point of the hand-off and just took the ball away around midfield with 7:02 left in the fourth quarter. Pavia and the Commodores then went on a time-consuming drive, with key penalties on both teams sprinkled in. Pavia converted a third down with a 5-yard run to the Missouri 1, and after officials overturned what was ruled a fumble by Vanderbilt’s Sedrick Alexander — who was clearly down — Pavia kept it himself for the lead and FirstBank Stadium exploded.
TOUCHDOWN DORES!#2Turnt | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/tpgPx6TYCe
— #10 Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) October 25, 2025
Zollers led the Tigers out with 75 yards to go and two timeouts. He converted a fourth-and-10 with a 14-yard strike to Marquis Johnson and then had Mizzou down the Vandy 30 after an 18-yarder to Coleman. But Zollers also took a sack and was called for intentional grounding that lost Mizzou a down and 10 seconds off the clock. After an incomplete throw, Missouri had 6 seconds left at the 37-yard line, but the desperation pass ended up less than a yard short, allowing Vanderbilt to celebrate a landmark win.
Vanderbilt’s Cinderella story continues
Playoff Vandy is looking more and more like a real possibility.
The Commodores head to Texas next week to face the flailing preseason No. 1 Longhorns. Consecutive home games against Auburn and Kentucky follow before the Commodores finish their season in Knoxville against rival — it can be called that now — Tennessee.
Though Vanderbilt reached the AP top 10 for the first time since 1947, The Athletic’s College Football Playoff projections model remained skeptical after last Saturday’s win against LSU, as the Commodores had just an 8 percent chance to make the CFP entering Week 9. But Vandy’s chances are improving, as it climbed to 23 percent after beating Missouri.
Pavia, who was No. 3 in The Athletic’s Heisman Trophy straw poll last week, completed a modest 10 of 19 passes for 129 yards and an interception and ran eight times for 20 yards and a touchdown. And Missouri outgained Vanderbilt 376 to 265.
But regardless of the numbers, Vandy did enough to put itself in a rare position entering November.
“Championship teams go through games like this,” Pavia said.
What’s next for Missouri?
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said afterward that the Tigers will likely be without Pribula for a while.
“Beau has no broken bones, but he did have an ankle injury that had to be popped back in,” Drinkwitz said. “Don’t have a timetable for his return, but could be a while.”
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Zollers is considered the future at Mizzou, a four-star recruit coach Drinkwitz lured out of Pennsylvania.
The moment didn’t seem too big for him. His first few passes were delivered hot and a little high, but overall he completed 14 of 23 attempts for 138 yards.
The Tigers have a week off to get Zollers more practice reps and prepare for four consecutive SEC games to end the season. A strong finish vs. Texas A&M, vs. Mississippi State, at Oklahoma and at Arkansas would keep Missouri in the thick of the SEC and Playoff races, but it likely has no room for error.
