Gator Bowl Loss A Reminder of Mizzou's Need for Offensive Revamp

Missouri's offense was shorthanded in several ways in Saturday's loss to Virginia in the Gator Bowl. The result was the Tigers' second-lowest scoring performance of the season, losing 7-13.

Missouri scored a touchdown with ease on its opening drive, but a first down was a chore after that.

The attrition started from the top of the unit, with offensive coordinator Kirby Moore, the unit's play caller, leaving to accept the head coach job at Washington State. This led to head coach Eli Drinkwitz calling his first game since the 2022 season.

"I didn't do a good enough job calling plays tonight to get us into a rhythm or give us things that we could do and execute," Drinkwitz said. "Bottom line, this is on me."

The most questionable and costly of Drinkwitz's play calls came in the fourth quarter as Missouri was trying to forge a comeback. While trailing by six, Missouri faced a fourth-and-2 from the Virginia 41-yard-line with just over two minutes remaining.

Instead of calling on one of Missouri's two powerful running backs to grind out the two crucial yards, Drinkwitz called for quarterback Matt Zollers to roll out to the right sideline. The true freshman was knocked out of bounds just short of the line to gain.

Zollers unexpectedly became the starter just over a week away from the game when Beau Pribula, the starter for the regular season, announced his intention to enter the transfer portal.

Transfer plans led to the Tigers losing two other starters at wide receiver — Joshua Manning and Marquis Johnson. Additionally, tight end Brett Norfleet missed the game to recover from a injury procedure he underwent shortly after the conclusion of the regular season.

Dec 27, 2025; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Matt Zollers (5) drops back to pass against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images | Travis Register-Imagn Images

It was the third start of Zollers' career, with the former four-star prospect taking over for two games in the regular season while Pribula dealt with an ankle injury. He completed 12 of his 22 passes for 101 yards.

Missouri's offense was poor throughout the regular season when it was at full strength. The Tigers finished dead last in the SEC in passing yards per game.

When its roster was partly depleted, it was truly ugly.

Missouri's first and last drives were its best of the game. On its first, the Tigers needed just three minutes to travel 74 yards on seven plays, with running back Jamal Roberts punching in a five-yard rush to give Missouri a 7-0 lead.

"I thought the first drive, we had a great rhythm," Drinkwitz said.

On the final drive, Zollers led Missouri 61 yards down the field in less than 90 seconds before an incompletion on Missouri's final play of the game.

"Obviously missed an opportunity there at the end of the game," Drinkwitz said.

Everything in between those two bookmarking drives fell somewhere on a scale of bad to terrible.

On the drives between the first and last, Missouri averaged 4.6 plays and 15 yards. This, plus poor third-down execution from the Missouri defense, led to Virginia possessing the ball for 38:34 of the game.

"We were just out of sorts," Drinkwitz said of the offense after the first drive.

One sequence of three drives to open the second half was especially costly for Missouri.

After the Missouri defense allowed a drive of over 10 minutes to the Virginia offense to open the third quarter, the Tigers defense was put right back on the field, with Zollers' pass being tipped, then intercepted on the third play of the drive. After allowing a touchdown on the long drive, Missouri then allowed a field goal.

On the next two drives, Missouri went three-and-out. Missouri converted 3 of its 15 conversion attempts on third or fourth downs, which Drinkwitz attributed to pass catchers running too short of routes and execution.

The series of three-and-outs in the second half prevented the Tigers from maintaining the flow it held in the run game at some points in the first half. Consensus All-American Ahmad Hardy didn't touch the ball in the second half until 4:28 remained in the game. Missouri ran just six plays in the third quarter compared to 25 for Virginia.

Entering the final drive of the game, Zollers had thrown for just 45 yards, 20 of which came on the first drive.

Entering a do-or-die situation, Zollers completed each of his first four pass attempts, creating completions for 11, 14, 7 and 24 yards.

But then on a third-and-10, he suffered a hit to the head, causing the officiating crew to require him to sit out the next play and be evaluated. That ushered out walk-on quarterback Brett Brown for the most-important play of the game.

In his first career pass, Brown delivered a bullet to the end zone to perfect position to Daniel Blood for what could've been a game-winning touchdown. But tight defense from Virginia knocked the ball out of Blood's hands.

Missouri Tigers wide receiver Daniel Blood (10) tries to pull in a Hail Mary in the final second of the game as Virginia Cavaliers safety Devin Neal (27) and Virginia Cavaliers linebacker James Jackson breaks up the pass during the fourth quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium Saturday December 27, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. Virginia won 13-7. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Zollers ended the day completing 12 of his 22 pass attempts for 101 yards, the best numbers of any of his seven appearances this season. Throughout those appearances, there were plenty of youthful mistakes from Zollers. Drinkwitz still saw moments of potential, including in the loss to Virginia.

"I thought he did some really good things," Drinkwitz said of Zollers' performance. "So, a lot to build on. Obviously it's a lot of growth. Everybody's got to grow and learn from their reps. And that's his, really, his third start. So, I thought he did some really good things. And I think there was just a couple of throws that we were a little bit late to. Just, overall, I thought he gave us an opportunity, and it was really on me — I didn't do a good enough job calling plays for him."

Zollers will be at the center at the most-important decision Missouri will make this offseason, with the Tigers having to make a new plan at quarterback. Drinkwitz has been adamant throughout the season that Zollers is the "future" for the quarterback position at the program.

What the Gator Bowl loss made clear for Zollers and the rest of the Missouri offense is that the future will have to look different. The stagnant day for the unit Saturday was far from the most concerning moment of the season.

The first piece of revamping the unit was made days before the bowl game, with the program hiring Chip Lindsey to be its next offensive coordinator. He'll take over a group that has at least one elite running back returning, but, as Saturday's game was a reminder of, little identity in the passing game and questions at several positions.

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