GATOR BOWL
No. 19 Virginia (10-3) vs. Missouri (8-4)
Saturday, Dec. 27, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Jacksonville, Fla.
Consensus Odds: Missouri -4.5, Total 44.5
No. 19 Virginia can reach 11 wins for the first time in the program’s 122nd season with a victory against Missouri in the Gator Bowl on Saturday night in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Cavaliers (10-3) tied the 1989 school record for wins by defeating rival Virginia Tech on Nov. 29 before losing to unranked Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game on Dec. 6, a setback that cost them a spot in the College Football Playoff.
“We have a tremendous opportunity,” fourth-year Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. “We’re playing an outstanding football team … and we have an opportunity still to do something that hasn’t been done within this program ever.”
Virginia is playing in a bowl game for the first time since the 2019 season and has not won one since shutting out South Carolina in the 2018 Belk Bowl. That was also the last time the Cavaliers beat a team from the Southeastern Conference.
Missouri (8-4) is making its fifth straight bowl appearance under head coach Eli Drinkwitz and looking for its third straight bowl victory.
“This is a special team that has worked very hard to put themselves in this position and we look forward to ending the season on a high note,” Drinkwitz said.
All four of the Tigers’ losses this season came against ranked opponents in SEC play: Alabama, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. They finished the regular season with a 31-17 road win against Arkansas on Nov. 29.
Quarterback experience is the most glaring difference between the participants in the 81st Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium.
Virginia’s Chandler Morris is potentially playing in his 47th and final collegiate game. This is his first season with the Cavaliers, his fourth stop after stints at Oklahoma (2020), TCU (2021-23) and North Texas (2024). He has applied for an additional year of eligibility in 2026 but as of Monday, Virginia general manager Tyler Jones told The Daily Progress that the school had not heard from the NCAA.
Morris has completed 64.6% of his passes for 2,802 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 13 starts this season. He has rushed for 245 yards and five scores.
With senior Beau Pribula entering the transfer portal, true freshman backup Matt Zollers will make his third start of the season for Missouri. When Pribula was injured, Zollers started in a 38-17 loss to then-No. 3 Texas A&M on Nov. 8 and in a 49-27 win against Mississippi State on Nov. 15. He has completed 53.0% of his throws for 402 yards with four touchdowns and one pick.
In a potentially awkward development, Virginia will reportedly be among the suitors for Pribula in the portal in case Morris does not get a seventh year of eligibility. Morris’ appeal is based on injuries that limited his snaps in 2021 and 2022.
–Bowl History
Virginia will play in its first bowl game since the 2019 Orange Bowl against Florida. The Cavaliers were most recently bowl-eligible in 2021, but the Fenway Bowl vs. SMU was canceled due to COVID-19.
–Name to Know: Missouri might be without its preferred passer, but the backfield isn’t empty.
Doak Walker Award finalist Ahmad Hardy, who led the SEC in rushing yards (1,560) in 2025 after leading the Sun Belt (1,351) in 2024 while at Louisiana Monroe, has been circled by the Cavaliers’ coaching staff on the scouting report for days.
The Virginia defense, anchored by defensive linemen Mitchell Melton (10.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, three forced fumbles) and Daniel Rickert (8.0 TFL and 6.5 sacks), ranked sixth in the ACC against the run (110.5 yards per game) and third in total defense (313.3).
–Gator Bites …
Missouri will also be without offensive coordinator Kirby Moore, who left this month to become the head coach at Washington State, and two of its top receivers. Joshua Manning and Marquis Johnson, who combined for 57 catches, 658 yards and four touchdowns, are also entering the portal.
Missouri redshirt sophomore linebacker Josiah Trotter is ready to carry on the family name on Sundays.
The son of former Philadelphia Eagles LB Jeremiah Trotter and brother of current Eagles LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. made a major impact this season after transferring from West Virginia and is projected as a Day 2 pick in the draft if he doesn’t return to Columbia.
He was the Tigers’ leading tackler (84) and trailed only defensive end Zion Young with 13.0 tackles for loss. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 2 run-defending LB in the SEC behind only Georgia standout CJ Allen.
–Virginia linebacker Kam Robinson’s outstanding junior season ended with a torn ACL in the Nov. 15 victory over Duke.
The Butkus Award semifinalist and three-time ACC Linebacker of the Week flashed his next-level playmaking skills for NFL scouts throughout the campaign, returning an interception 47 yards for a touchdown in an overtime win at Louisville on Oct. 4, recording a decisive safety late in the fourth quarter of a 22-20 victory against Washington State on Oct. 18, and registering another pick-six to seal a 31-21 win at Cal on Nov. 1. He also blocked a punt against Wake Forest on Nov. 8.
–Field Level Media
