An onslaught of bad news hit Missouri sports fans over the past few weeks.
Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL before the Chiefs were eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in a decade, then the organization
announced its intention to move out of Arrowhead and across the state line. The Cardinals traded away one of their few remaining big name players in Willson Contreras. And Mizzou men’s basketball suffered the largest defeat in Braggin’ Rights history.
Long story short: fans in the Show-Me State haven’t had much to be thankful for this holiday season. But Mizzou football and head coach Eli Drinkwitz will try to deliver Tigers fans a belated Christmas present this Saturday with a bowl win over Virginia in Jacksonville.
A win over the Cavaliers would make history for MU. The Tigers enter the Gator Bowl with an 8-4 record, and one more victory would give them nine wins for a third straight season — something that has never happened in program history.
Like its opponent in Jacksonville, which lost to Duke in overtime at the ACC Championship Game, Mizzou fell short of its playoff goal. But MU is taking the prospect of a quality bowl victory to cap the 2025 season seriously.
“I’ve been adamant with this, with our team, with our players,” Drinkwitz said, “everybody who is in this building’s focus has to be what do we got to do to win the bowl game.”
That group of people working in the south end zone facility has changed quickly since the Tigers’ final regular season game, a win over Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Gone is offensive coordinator Kirby Moore, who was hired as the new head coach at Washington State, and former Michigan OC Chip Lindsey was brought in as his replacement. Key wide receivers Joshua Manning and Marquis Johnson announced their intention to transfer, alongside a handful of other Tigers.
And starting quarterback Beau Pribula is on his way out after just one season. It didn’t take Drinkwitz long to announce Matt Zollers as his new starter for the bowl game, and to do so in convincing fashion.
Zollers has been no stranger to stepping in when needed this season, starting the season third on the depth chart before seeing notable action in three SEC games.
“Obviously, going into the season starting at third string, you don’t expect to be playing,” he said after the team’s 49-27 win over Mississippi State, “but take the opportunity and just go with it.”
The former top-100 recruit’s performance over those three games showed plenty of promise, but also underlined why it’s rare for true freshman to start in the SEC. Zollers displayed elite arm talent that could help him become of the best quarterbacks in the conference, given time, though he lacked the same command of the offense seen with the more experienced Pribula.
Zollers was overwhelmed by a playoff-level Texas A&M defense, but he kept Mizzou in the game after Pribula’s injury against Vanderbilt and directed the offense on its way to a big win on Senior Night facing the Bulldogs.
“I’ve been very, very impressed with Matt Zollers. I thought he played a heck of a game,” Drinkwitz said when asked about Zollers the week after that win. “The thing I was the most impressed with, with Matt, was the moment was never too big for him. I mean, he had a plan, he executed his plan, he got a game ball after the game.”
Now, the talented freshman will step back into the spotlight with a chance to deliver Tigers fans an even bigger gift: a strong sign that he is the right quarterback to lead the team into the future. That’s the role Drinkwitz envisions for the Pennsylvania native, and what he said about Zollers ahead of their matchup with the Aggies seems even more fitting now.
“We really were adamant throughout spring, throughout the summer, and even in fall camp to really focus on three spots, to make sure that Matt was getting developed,” Drinkwitz said, “Because we knew that he was the future of the program at the quarterback position, but the future is now.”
Zollers will have an uphill battle with Manning and Johnson headed to the portal and Brett Norfleet out due to injury, limiting the number of established targets he has on the field. MU has also not announced who will call plays for the offense with Moore already in Pullman.
Mizzou’s offensive strategy against Mississippi State may provide a solid blueprint for Saturday, though. The Tigers ran for 326 yards against the Bulldogs, led by 300 from Ahmad Hardy, as Zollers and the passing game were effective in a complementary role.
Hardy has taken his performance to another level in games where he had extra motivation this season, rushing for 250 or more yards against Louisiana and Mississippi State. After losing out on the Doak Walker Award to Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love during a ceremony that felt more like a coronation than the close race it was, the sophomore running back may head to Jacksonville with a mind to make Cavalier defenders pay for the award committee’s decision.
The cupboard isn’t bare for Zollers among his passing targets, either. Kevin Coleman Jr. is expected to play as he tries to increase his draft chances during his final collegiate game, and freshman phenom Donovan Olugbode will have a chance to further expand his role in the receiving corps.
Zollers and Olugbode are a pairing that the Tigers hope can lead their passing attack for the foreseeable future, and the two already displayed a strong connection this season.
“I think him and Matt have a lot of trust in each other, and that’s kind of been really good for Matt,” Drinkwitz said, “As he’s working through this, he’s got somebody he can really rely on and be comfortable with.”
Continuing the team’s reliance on the running game seems to be the likely strategy for MU against Virginia, but Drinkwitz hopes to shift to a more balanced offense long-term through an improved passing attack. Mizzou’s passing game has noticeably dipped since 2023, when the Tigers’ aerial effectiveness helped them to a Cotton Bowl-winning season — one that would have placed them in the College Football Playoff in its current form.
“We’ve got to improve the pass game,” Drinkwitz said when asked what he was looking for in his new offensive coordinator, “You look at our four losses this year, you look at our three losses last year, you look at our two losses the year before that, our inability to consistently convert third downs in critical games or throw the ball has been a major factor in our losses. We’ve got to get that corrected and cleaned up.”
MU is hopeful Zollers can be the quarterback it needs to elevate the offense back to a playoff-caliber unit and open up the passing game as the team heads toward a future with nine SEC games, making the path to a playoff appearance even tougher than it was before.
“The next jump is going to be the hardest jump. Going from good to great is the hardest jump possible, and I’ve got to lean into it as the leader of this organization to what it’s going to take,” Drinkwitz said during the week before the Tigers’ loss to Oklahoma, “What it’s going to take is pushing harder than I pushed to get to this point, so I’ve got to be ready to do that, and that’s what our challenge is.”
Drinkwitz knows what he needs from the quarterback position to take his program to the next level, and he brought in a coordinator who received significant credit from current NFL MVP candidate Drake Maye for his development to help achieve that goal. Zollers’ arm talent and immense potential, combined with his performance in relief of Pribula this season, likely makes him Mizzou’s top candidate for the job.
MU also seems likely to at least explore a quarterback transfer class loaded with talent, but one that will also come with plenty of high asking prices for that talent. That’s money the Tigers surely want to spend elsewhere as they try to put together the roster needed for the jump Drinkwitz has positioned the program to take.
Saturday’s game presents Zollers with the chance to go from being Mizzou’s quarterback of the future to proving himself as their quarterback of the present. That transition likely does not require the freshman to dazzle and overwhelm the Cavaliers with an explosive aerial attack, but instead show the command of the offense and ability to consistently move the ball forward needed to complement his throwing ability.
A solid offensive performance and win over Virginia could serve as significant proof of concept for the coaching staff of Zollers as the right man to lead MU into the 2026 season and beyond — and deliver Tigers fans a late, welcome gift at the same time.
