Mizzou cruised in its cupcake opener.
Missouri football beat FCS-level Central Arkansas 61-6 on Thursday night in Columbia, kicking off the 2025 season with a resounding win.
The Tigers ' quarterback competition appears to have been upended in the win, and some new starters and newcomers impressed. Now, it's on to Border War.
Here's how we graded the Tigers as they handled business against the Bears:
That was fun.
Pribula beat back the deep-ball concerns with a 51-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Johnson , led a 99-yard touchdown drive in a three-minute situation and used his legs for a 31-yard score, all in the first half. Mizzou scored on all six of the drives Pribula played, and the Penn State transfer went 23-of-28 passing for 283 yards and two touchdowns. He added two scores with his legs.
With Sam Horn limping to the locker room after just one play in the first half, this QB competition is almost certainly over.
Mizzou's wide receivers looked varied and fluid, with each of MU's starting wide receivers feasting against overmatched opposition. Marquis Johnson led the way with 134 receiving yards and a touchdown. Ahmad Hardy , after five first-half touches, broke out on the first drive of the second half with a 44-yard run that helped set up a 4-yard touchdown.
MU's offensive line, however, had four first-half penalties and leaked some pressure Pribula's way. That will need to be fixed before Kansas visits Sept. 6.
This wasn't quite as dominant up front as we wanted to see despite the final margin. Mizzou didn't get its first sack until Damon Wilson II pierced the line in the third quarter, and MU only had three tackles for loss in that same timespan.
But the Bears didn't look like scoring until the last-minute touchdown with all of MU's reserves on the field, so it's hard to be too critical.
Freshman Dante McClellan's returned an interception 83 yards for a touchdown for the defensive highlight of the night.
What a start to the season for Blake Craig. The kicker who had some intermediate-range struggles in his first season as a starter stared down some demons with a 49-yard field goal make to kick off the year, and he followed that up with a 55-yard conversion. Craig was seemingly helped to the locker room in the second half with a potential injury.
Coleman had a 44-yard punt return in the first half, setting up Pribula's first rushing score. That could be an area of improvement this season for MU.
Job done.
We admire Mizzou for deviating from the reported quarterback plan, but it might have cost the Tigers their backup QB. Horn's situation did not seem good, going by coach Eli Drinkwitz's sideline comments.
"First off, my heart goes out to Sam. I mean, what a great competitor, I'm disappointed for him," Drinkwitz told SEC Network's Lauren Sisler. "Obviously, Beau has played a very good game, very efficient, takes care of the football. So it's been exciting to watch, but there's a part of you that's sick."
This was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage, sure, but there are reasons to feel good. Pribula looked dialed in, and the offense appears to have weapons. The defense is off to a good start. With Kansas coming to town next, that's a good sign.
But, we'd like to see some improvement from the O-line, and if Horn's injury is significant, then backup QB is suddenly a concern.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Here's how we graded Missouri football after runaway Week 1 win
