Florida coach Jim McElwain said Monday during his weekly news conference that quarterback Luke Del Rio is expected to start against Missouri this weekend after missing the last two games with a knee injury.

In fact, the sophomore would have played against LSU last Saturday had Hurricane Matthew not caused the game’s postponement.

The Gators’ offense wasn’t as efficient under backup quarterback Austin Appleby. After scoring 21 points in the first half against Tennessee on Sept. 24, Florida scored just 20 points over the next six quarters, which included an ugly 13-6 win against Vanderbilt the following week.

But now Del Rio is set to return against the Tigers (2-3, 0-2), who the No. 18 Gators (4-1, 2-1) host at 4 p.m. ET Saturday. Del Rio had completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 762 yards and six touchdowns before going down with the injury, and McElwain is understandably excited to have him back.