The Missouri Tigers will travel to Jacksonville, Florida, to take on the No. 20-ranked Virginia Cavaliers in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. The matchup is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 27, at 7:30 P.M CST at EverBank Stadium, marking Missouri’s fifth consecutive bowl appearance under head coach Eli Drinkwitz.
The series between the two programs is brief, with Missouri winning the only meeting 31-7 on Sept 22, 1973.
Mizzou looks to improve all-time bowl record against Virginia
Missouri’s bowl history stands at 17–20 all-time. Under Drinkwitz, the Tigers have won their last two postseason games against Big Ten opponents, defeating Ohio State 14–3 in the 2023 Cotton Bowl and Iowa 27–24 in last season’s Music City Bowl. Missouri will look to continue this streak and cap off a third consecutive season with a bowl victory, as the Tigers remain at the No. 25 slot in the AP Poll.
The Tigers (8-4, 4-4 SEC) closed out their regular season with a 31-17 win over Arkansas, a game that highlighted Missouri’s run-first identity, led by Ahmad Hardy, a Doak Walker Award finalist who finished the season with 1,560 rushing yards, the fourth-highest single-season total in program history.