Mizzou loses Gator Bowl after Matt Zollers is forced off the field on final play
By David Wasson
Published:
The Missouri Tigers had a tantalizing chance to overcome No. 19 Virginia on Saturday night in the Gator Bowl, but a last-second prayer into the endzone from a walk-on quarterback went unanswered.
Junior walk-on Brett Brown, who had not attempted a pass all season and was only on the field for the second time in 2025, lofted a fourth-down pass into the endzone that Virginia broke up before receiver Daniel Blood could come down with it. Virginia then kneeled out the final seconds to earn a 13-7 victory.
Brown was only in the game because Mizzou starter Matt Zollers was removed by game officials after he hit his head hard during a third-down incompletion. Zollers was hurried as he threw by Virginia’s Daniel Rickert, then the back of the quarterback’s head bounced off the Everbank Field grass violently.
Virginia (11-3) notched its 11-win season in the 136-year history of the program. Missouri fell to 8-5. Zollers finished the game 12-of-22 for 101 yards and an interception.
Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy smashed the program’s single-season rushing record Saturday by gaining 89 yards on 15 carries. Hardy needed 68 yards to eclipse Cody Schrader’s previous school-record total of 1,627 yards gained in 2023, and finished the 2025 season with an SEC-best 1,649 yards on 256 carries – a 6.4 yards-per-carry average that is the best in the nation.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
