JACKSONVILLE, Fla.\u00a0\u2013 The No. 25 Missouri Tigers scored a touchdown on the opening possession of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium, but No. 20 Virginia pitched a shutout the rest of the way Saturday, surviving two late efforts by Mizzou and rallied for a 13-7 victory.<\/p>\n
The Tigers (8-5) forced a Virginia three-and-out with less than two minutes to play and took over at their own 18-yard line.\u00a0Matt Zollers<\/a>, the first true freshman to start a bowl game for Mizzou, moved the Tigers into position for a game-winning score with some clutch throws, including a 24-yard pass to fellow frosh\u00a0Donovan Olugbode<\/a>\u00a0that moved the Tigers to the UVa 21-yard line.\u00a0<\/p>\n On third down, Zollers’ head hit the turf while he was throwing the ball away, leading the officials to send him off the field as a precautionary measure for the game’s final snap. Backup quarterback\u00a0Brett Brown<\/a>\u00a0came on and tossed a pass into the end zone for\u00a0Daniel Blood<\/a>\u00a0that he nearly caught before the ball was dislodged by safety Devin Neal and the Wahoos survived for the win.<\/p>\n On their previous possession, the Tigers had the ball at midfield when on a fourth and 2 at the Virginia 41, Zollers came up one yard short on a run to the right.<\/p>\n Despite the loss, consensus all-America running back\u00a0Ahmad Hardy<\/a>\u00a0became Mizzou’s single-season rushing leader. He ran 15 times for 89 yards and finished the season with 1,649 yards, topping the MU record of 1,627 set by Cody Schrader two years ago.<\/p>\n Hardy ripped off a 43-yard run on MU’s opening series of the game to set up backfield mate\u00a0Jamal Roberts<\/a>\u00a0for a 5-yard touchdown run. But after that, Virginia’s ball control offense kept the Tigers in check.<\/p>\n The Cavs converted 13 of 23 third downs and 2 of 4 fourth downs to run up a 38:34-to-21:26 advantage in time of possession and ran 79 plays to MU’s 55.<\/p>\n Virginia got on the board early in the second quarter on a 42-yard field goal by Will Bettridge. Later in the quarter, he missed a 44-yarder.<\/p>\n Missouri had a golden opportunity late in the first half when UVa’s Cam Ross muffed a\u00a0Connor\u00a0Weselman\u00a0punt that was recovered by\u00a0Tavorus Jones<\/a>\u00a0at the Virginia 25-yard line. But the Tigers gained only one yard on three plays and\u00a0Oliver Robbins<\/a>\u00a0missed a 42-yard field goal.<\/p>\n Virginia took the second-half kickoff and methodically moved down the field, putting together a 19-play drive that ate up 10:07 and ended with Harrison Waylee running two yards for a touchdown that gave the Wahoos their first lead at 10-7.<\/p>\n On Mizzou’s next possession, a third-down pass by Zollers was tipped and intercepted by UVa’s Emmanuel Karnley, which led to a 39-yard Bettridge field goal that increased Virginia’s lead to 13-7.<\/p>\n Virginia’s Chandler Morris completed 25 of 38 passes for 198 yards, and Waylee led the rushing attack with 28 carries for 65 yards, as the Cavaliers outgained the Tigers 308-260. Zollers was 12 of 22 for 101 yards.<\/p>\n Linebacker\u00a0Nicholas Rodriguez<\/a>\u00a0led Missouri’s defensive effort making 15 tackles, most by a Tiger this season, and broke up a pass.<\/p>\n FOLLOW THE TIGERS
\nFor all the latest information on Mizzou Athletics, please visit\u00a0MUTigers.com<\/a>. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Mizzou football (@MizzouFootball<\/a>) and Coach Drinkwitz (@CoachDrinkwitz<\/a>) on X. You can also find the Tigers on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n