81st TaxSlayer Gator Bowl will match Missouri vs. Virginia Dec. 27

After an afternoon of turmoil and chaos on the college football landscape, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl landed two teams that have met only once and have made rare appearances in Jacksonville.

Missouri (8-4, No. 25 in the AP poll) and Virginia (10-3, No. 19 in AP and No. 19 in the CFP poll) will play in the 81^st Gator Bowl on Dec. 27 (ABC, 7:30 p.m.) after Notre Dame’s sudden opt-out delayed the ACC’s bowl selection process until late Sunday afternoon.

Misouri quarterback Beau Pribula (9) tries to evad Oklahoma's Taylor Wein during their game on Nov. 22 in Norman, Okla. — Misouri quarterback Beau Pribula (9) tries to evad Oklahoma’s Taylor Wein during their game on Nov. 22 in Norman, Okla.

The Irish, which did not make the College Football Playoff, are contracted to fall into the ACC bowl rotation if they don’t make the CFP and were initially set to play BYU in the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando, with Georgia Tech playing in the Gator Bowl.

But Notre Dame issued a statement late Sunday afternoon announcing it was declining any bowl appearances, with athletic director Pete Bevacqua telling ESPN that the process was «a farce.»

The ACC then had to scramble, sending Georgia Tech to Orlando and Virginia, which lost 27-20 to Duke in the conference championship game on Dec. 6, to Jacksonville.

Notre Dame joined Iowa State and Kansas State from the Big 12 in opting out of bowl games. The Big 12 fined those two teams $500,000 each but since Notre Dame is not a full member of the ACC, it will incur no fine, according to published reports.

Notre Dame jumbled ACC picture

Gator Bowl President Greg McGarity said Notre Dame’s decision clearly caught the ACC off guard.

“It was a failure of the ACC office to consider whether Notre Dame may not be in play,” McGarity said. “It’s not that we had a chance (Notre Dame played South Carolina in the 2022 Gator Bowl]. We already knew that if Notre Dame didn’t make the playoff, they would go to Orlando, and we would have taken Georgia Tech. But apparently no one [at the ACC] thought about that until about 2 p.m. [on Sunday].”

McGarity also said that if there were “any teeth in that contract” between the ACC and Notre Dame, the Irish would have gotten a hefty fine.

That said, McGarity said he welcomes the Missouri-Virginia matchup and has received assurances from officials at both schools that the fan base will support the game.

“The greatest thing about our matchup is we have two schools who will be excited to come here and play in the Gator Bowl” he said. “It may not have the buzz of other games but we don’t think there will be many kids opting out and we think both fan bases will support their teams. I think we’re going to have two teams who are passionate about playing the game.”

School officials praise the decision

Virginia won 10 games for only the second time in school history and is in a bowl game for the first time since the 2019 Orange Bowl. The Cavaliers were stunned 27-20 by Duke in the ACC championship game, their fourth overtime game of the season on Dec. 6 in Charlotte, N.C.

“We’re grateful for another opportunity to finish what has been such a special season for this program, the players, staff, alumni, donors and UVA fans,” coach Tony Elliott said in a statement. “We want to send off our seniors, who have given everything to this program, the right way and that will be our focus going into this final game.”

Missouri can win nine or more games in three successive seasons for the first time in school history.

“I want to challenge our fans and alumni to come and support us in Florida,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “This is a special team that has worked very hard to put themselves in this position and we look forward to ending the season on a high note.»

Missouri has played in three Gator Bowls, the last a 35-0 victory over Alabama and Bear Bryant in 1968. The Tigers lost to Clemson 24-23 in 1949 and to Maryland in 1950.

Virginia has played in the Gator Bowl, losing to Oklahoma 48-14 in 1991 and Texas Tech 31-28 in 2008.

The only meeting between the two teams was in 1973, when the Tigers beat the Cavaliers 31-7 at home.

Missouri is 17-20 in bowl games and Virginia is 8-13.

Tigers among top rushing teams in the nation

The Tigers (8-4) are led by a run-heavy offense that leads the SEC and is eighth in the nation with 234.8 yards per game. Sophomore Ahmad Hardy is second in the nation with 1,560 yards and has scored 16 touchdowns, tied for fifth in the nation. His backup, Jamal Roberts, has 697 yards and five scores.

Graduate senior quarterback Beau Pribula, a Penn State transfer, also contributes to the running attack with 297 yards and six TDs. He has thrown for 1,941 yards and 11 TDs, with nine interceptions.

The Tigers are led on defense by sophomore linebacker Josiah Trotter, who has 84 tackles, 13 for losses and seven quarterback hits.

Missouri won two of its last three games and finished the regular season by beating Arkansas 31-17 on the road.

Virginia is 23^rd in the nation in run defense, led by linebackers Kam Robinson and Maddox Marcellus, and run-stuffing safeties Devin Neal and Ethan Minter.

The Cavaliers also have a 1,000-yard rusher, senior J’Mari Taylor (1,062, 14 TDs). Senior quarterback Chandler Morris has thrown for 2,802 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, with senior Trell Harris the leading receiver with 59 catches for 847 yards.

The Cavaliers won eight of their first nine games, including an overtime victory over Florida State. They also beat Louisville and North Carolina in overtime and beat Duke and Virginia Tech to end the regular season.