No. 20 Virginia notches first 11-win season by beating 25th-ranked Missouri in the Gator Bowl

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Virginia Cavaliers coach Tony Elliott had a message for his team in the postgame locker room: Welcome to the 11-win club.

It's the most exclusive one in program history.

Harrison Waylee ran for a touchdown, Chandler Morris threw for 198 yards and No. 20 Virginia edged 25th-ranked Missouri Tigers 13-7 in the Gator Bowl on Saturday night.

The Cavaliers bounced back from a crushing loss to Duke 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.

“It’s been a special year," Elliott said. "They believed when everyone around them told them not to. A lot of folks said they weren’t good enough to get to this point.”

Indeed, few saw this one coming.

Virginia (11-3) was a four-point underdog, according to BetMGM, and was short-handed on both sides of the ball. Elliott’s team played without star running back J’Mari Taylor, leading receiver Trell Harris and linebackers Kam Robinson and Maddox Marcellus.

Taylor, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 1,062 yards rushing during the regular season, was a no-show on the sideline after “deliberating” about playing all week.

Waylee and Xay Davis picked up the slack, combining for 109 yards on 32 carries. Waylee capped a 19-play, 75-yard drive that took 10 minutes off the clock to start the third quarter and proved to be the difference.

“That was a huge drive in the game," Morris said. “To be able to go out there and really take over the line of scrimmage and punch it in the end zone, putting seven points on the board was really big.”

Virginia’s defense was equally impressive, holding the Tigers (8-5) to 260 total yards. The Cavaliers forced four punts, intercepted a pass and had three stops on fourth down.

The last two came on Missouri's final two drives. Facing a fourth-and-2 at the Virginia 41, Missouri quarterback Matt Zollers was pushed out of bounds a yard short of the marker. Facing a fourth-and-10 at the Virginia 21 - and with Zollers having to leave the game for a play - Daniel Kaelin threw incomplete to the end zone.

Zollers, a freshman, started his third game of the season in place of Beau Pribula, who announced plans last week to enter the transfer portal. Zollers completed 12 of 22 passes for 101 yards and an interception.

“I thought he did some really good things,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “A lot to build on. Obviously a lot of growth. Everybody's got to grow and learn from the reps.”

All-American Ahmad 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 didn’t do enough to spark Missouri’s offense.

Virginia: Despite playing without Robinson and backup Marcellus because of injuries, the Cavaliers managed to mostly slow down Hardy and Roberts. They combined for 145 yards.

Missouri: The Tigers failed to win at least nine games for the third consecutive year. It would have been the first time they had accomplished the feat in school history.

Missouri defensive end Zion Young played two weeks after getting arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, speeding and failure to properly affix his license plate. Young, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound senior from Atlanta who started his college career at Michigan State, finished with four tackles and two quarterback hits.

Virginia awaits the NCAA’s decision on Morris, who is seeking a seventh year of eligibility. Morris started at Oklahoma before transferring to TCU, North Texas and then Virginia.

Missouri will look for another nine-plus-win season in 2026 with Hardy expected to return for his junior year.

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