Jacksonville, Florida — Harrison Valley Ran for a touchdown, chandler morris Throwed for 198 yards and 20th Virginia reached 25th place missouri 13-7 Saturday night in the Gator Bowl.
Cavaliers bounce back from crushing defeat ruler in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game – an overtime stunner that cost them a spot in the College Football Playoff – and reached 11 wins for the first time in the program’s 122 years.
Very few people saw this coming. Virginia (11-3) was a four-point underdog, according to BetMGM, and was short-handed on both sides of the ball. Coach Tony Elliot’s team played without a star running back. J’Marie Taylorleading receiver trail harris and linebackers kam robinson And Maddox Marcellus,
Taylor, who led the ACC with 1,062 yards rushing during the regular season, was not present on the sideline after “deliberating” about playing the entire week.
Welly and zay davis Picked up the slack, gaining 109 yards on 32 carries.
Virginia’s defense was equally impressive, holding the Tigers (8-5) to 260 total yards. The Cavaliers forced four punts, intercepted one pass and intercepted UVA three times on fourth down.
The final two came on Missouri’s final two drives. Virginia 41, facing fourth and second at the Missouri quarterback Matt Zollers Pushed out of bounds a yard short of the marker. Facing fourth-and-10 at the Virginia 21 – and Zollers had to give up the play – Daniel Kellin Threw an incomplete pass in the end zone.
Zollers, a freshman, started his third game of the season in his place. Beau PribulaWho announced plans to enter the transfer portal last week. Zollers completed 12 of 22 passes for 101 yards and one interception.
All American Ahmed Hardy Ran 15 times for 89 yards. He broke Missouri’s single-season school record set by Cody Schrader (1,627 yards) in 2023, but did not do enough to spark Missouri’s offense.
The Tigers failed to win at least nine games for the third consecutive season. This will be the first time he has achieved this feat in the school’s history.
