Mississippi State preps backup QB as Missouri readies for home finale

With the College Football Playoff out of reach, Missouri modified its aim with a goal of another 10-win season.

The Tigers will try to take another step in the mission Saturday night when they play their final home game of 2025 against Mississippi State in Columbia.

Missouri (6-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) is coming off a 38-17 loss last week to No. 3 Texas A&M. The Tigers struggled in their first game without quarterback Beau Pribula, lost for the season in an Oct. 25 loss to Vanderbilt, as true freshman Matt Zollers completed only 7 of 22 passes for 77 yards.

Twenty seniors will play their final home game and coach Eli Drinkwitz hopes to send them out with a win.

"Some of them have been here for a long time," he said. "Some of them have been here for a short time. But all have contributed to the success of Mizzou football. This group of men have worked extremely hard."

The Tigers figure to feed the ball frequently to running back Ahmad Hardy, who's compiled 1,046 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Mississippi State (5-5, 1-5) is in a similar spot as Missouri, trying to pick up the pieces after a loss. The Bulldogs suffered a 41-21 defeat at home last week to Georgia and might have lost more than a game.

It's possible they might be without quarterback Blake Shapen, who was knocked out by a big hit in the third quarter last week. Freshman Kamario Taylor replaced Shapen and ran for three second half scores to make the final margin more respectable.

Shapen has thrown for 2,239 yards and 15 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Taylor is 11 of 19 on the year for 174 yards but is the team's third-leading rusher with 200 yards on 34 attempts.

"I've got great confidence in Kamario," said second-year coach Jeff Lebby. "We've got to make all the layups and just play inside the scheme, play inside the system."

The Tigers lead the all-time series 3-2. This will be the first meeting in Columbia since 2015.

--Field Level Media