Missouri’s 2025 season was supposed to belong to Sam Horn, but fate had other plans. Just 2 weeks of college football, the Tigers have found themselves in the hands of a transfer once dismissed as a benchwarmer at Penn State. That’s none other than Beau Pribula, who isn’t just keeping the ship afloat; he’s steering it into uncharted waters with national attention and an SEC spotlight glaring down.

The Tigers’ 2025 campaign couldn’t have asked for a wilder script. Ranked No. 25 to start the year and picked near the bottom of the SEC media poll, Eli Drinkwitz’s squad has opened 2–0, outscoring opponents 103–37. That includes a 61–6 demolition job against Central Arkansas and, more dramatically, a 42–31 comeback win over Kansas in the Border War. The headliner? Pribula, who completed 30 of 39 passes for 334 yards and three scores, rallying his team back from a 21-point deficit. The Tigers needed a hero, and they got one.

The numbers don’t lie. Pribula’s stat line through 2 games—53-of-67 passing, 617 yards, five touchdowns, zero picks, nearly 80% completion—reads like something out of a video game. On September 10, Pro Football Focus handed him a 92.1 grade, the highest of any quarterback in the country through Week 2. And ESPN’s analytical guru Bill Connelly literally put Pribula at the top of his early-season SEC QB rankings. Also, Tim Tebow calls himself a ‘Beau-liever.’ Beau Pribula is what we thought Arch Manning would become.

But what makes this story juicier is the backstory. Missouri wasn’t supposed to be here, and neither was Pribula. He arrived as a depth piece from Happy Valley, hardly considered SEC headline material. Yet with Sam Horn sidelined on literally his first snap of the year, Pribula has taken the wheel and lit up defenses with poise and grit. His chemistry with wideout Marquis Johnson is already electric, and his knack for converting fourth downs in crunch moments has given Mizzou an identity it hasn’t had in years.

Beyond the highlight reels, there’s a sense of defiance in this Missouri locker room. They were picked 12th out of 16 in the preseason SEC media poll. Just like that, they became a national-level threat. The conversation low-key shifted to whether they can hang with Alabama, Oklahoma, and South Carolina in upcoming conference showdowns. If Pribula keeps slinging like this, Mizzou’s ceiling could jump from a projected 8 wins to 9, maybe even double digits. And for a program trying to reclaim relevance in the post–Gary Pinkel era (2001-2015), that’s everything.

The September 7, 42-31 Kansas win told us more than any stat sheet could. Down 3 scores in a rivalry game, most teams fold. Instead, Missouri fought back, led by a quarterback who just months ago was running the scout team at Penn State. Everything comes with a price. Pribula’s rise comes with a shadow, though—the gut punch that was Sam Horn’s injury.

Sam Horn’s season-ending injury

For Sam Horn, this was supposed to be the year. After biding his time and shaking off Tommy John surgery, the redshirt junior was finally set to split snaps with Beau Pribula and prove he could run the Tigers’ offense. Instead, his season ended on its first play. One QB keeper, one awkward hit, and suddenly Horn was on crutches with a fractured tibia. ESPN reported he underwent surgery the following Wednesday, officially shutting him down for 2025.

It was a cruel twist for a two-sport star. Horn, who owns a 98 mph fastball, had been drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in July and still chose football. But now, instead of battling SEC defenses, he’s facing months of rehab. The Tigers’ next man up mentality has never been more visible. But it also leaves questions about depth: behind Pribula sits true freshman Matt Zollers.

In the big picture, Missouri fans now live in two timelines: one with Horn’s what-could-have-been, and one with Pribula’s here-and-now magic. The former ended in heartbreak on a single snap. The latter, somehow, has Tiger Nation believing in another double-digit run season. And as crazy as it sounds, this might just be the better script.