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Columbia Daily Tribune
Missouri football will play in Gator Bowl against Virginia
- Story byColumbia Daily Tribune
- Missouri football will play in Gator Bowl against Virginia
Duuuval.
Missouri football will play in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville , Florida, the bowl game announced via social media Sunday. The matchup will be played at EverBank Stadium, the home of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars .
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The Tigers will face Atlantic Coast Conference runners-up Virginia in the game, the ACC confirmed in a social media post.
Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 27, and it will air on ABC.
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Missouri's last trip to the Gator Bowl was all the way back in 1968, when the Tigers beat Bear Bryant's Alabama 35-10. Mizzou has made three total trips to the Jacksonville-based bowl games, including back-to-back trips in 1949 and 1950, when it lost to Clemson and Maryland, respectively.
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Nearly half-a-century after the last trip to Duval County, they're heading back.
Mizzou has been bowl eligible in each of head coach Eli Drinkwitz's six seasons at the helm. The Tigers lost to Army in the Armed Forces Bowl in 2021, then fell to Wake Forest in the Gasparilla Bowl in 2022.
Drinkwitz's first bowl win with Missouri was a big one, knocking off Ohio State for a New Year's Six win over Ohio State in last season's Cotton Bowl. Mizzou beat another Big Ten team last season, defeating Iowa in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Tigers went 8-4 in the 2025 regular season, with losses at Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt — all top-10 teams when they played Missouri.
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MU closed the regular season with a 31-17 win against Arkansas on Saturday, Nov. 29.
Two days before that game, the Tigers extended head coach Eli Drinkwitz through the 2031 season. He is expected to be paid an average of $10.75 million per year under the terms of his new deal.
Nov 29, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy (29) rushes during the second quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images
As of 4:15 p.m. Sunday, no Missouri players have announced that they have opted out of the postseason game.
Virginia went 10-3 this season with a loss to Duke in the ACC title game. The Cavaliers were likely a win away from a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Tigers have only faced Virginia once in their history, beating the Cavaliers 31-7 in 1973 in Columbia.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football will play in Gator Bowl against Virginia
