Taxslayer Gator Bowl, December 27-Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz expected a dominant showing against Virginia; instead, the offense barely scraped together consistent plays. From critical fourth-down failures to frequent incompletions, this wasn’t your Missouri, which we saw against Auburn or South Carolina this year. The need now is simple: a thorough rebuild, as head coach Eli Drinkwitz explains.

“Every team’s looking to rebuild their roster, post-Bowl Games, post-coaching changes, whatever, and that’s what we’ll do,” Drinkwitz said in his post-game interview after the 7-13 loss. “We’ve got a really strong foundation. Nick’s (Nick Rodriguez) gonna be back. He’s already signed. We have a really strong foundation of guys who have signed. I think people are making fun of people for putting out posters or tweets about re-signing.

I think you kind of have to now, just to make sure everybody knows who’s coming back,” the head coach elaborated. Apart from LB Nick Rodriguez returning, RB Ahmad Hardy and QB Matt Zollers are coming back in 2026. That gives a solid foundation for Eli Drinkwitz to finally achieve a 10-win season in 2026. But what went wrong in the Virginia game?

Missouri faced a defensively astute Virginia team in its Bowl game. The team is 20th nationally in total defense and 23rd in rushing defense. Factor in that Virginia commands a 35th-ranked passing defense, and sustaining drives becomes a herculean task.

Penalties and ineffective execution killed the drives, as freshman QB Matt Zollers’ third career start was spoiled due to receiver absences. Owing to that, the freshman QB came up short on a critical fourth-and-second run, and the QB even exited briefly for a precautionary evaluation. Apart from the Tigers’ opening 74-yard touchdown drive, nothing worked for them, and Ahmad Hardy’s record-breaking rushing performance (1,649 yards) went in vain.

All the woes stemmed from Drinkwitz’s lack of creativity and adaptability in playcalling. “It’s on me. I didn’t do a good enough job calling plays tonight to get us into a rhythm or give us things that we could do and execute. Bottom line, this is on me,” the head coach said. Notably, the playcalling was utterly predictable and failed to generate the required spark against an astute Virginia defense.

Drinkwitz is calling the offensive plays for the first time since 2022, after his OC Kirby Moore departed for Washington State. The offense against Virginia managed to generate just 77 yards in the final drives of the first half, and the Cavaliers shut them entirely in the second half. In a pivotal moment on fourth-and-2 in the second half, instead of using a prolific Hardy on the run, Matt Zollers was used, and he turned over the ball quickly. All things considered, a rebuild for the team is the top priority.

Why Missouri needs a rebuild and what will Eli Drinkwitz do?

The Tigers are losing their starting QB, Beau Pribula, along with veterans like WR Joshua Manning, Marquise Johnson, and James Madison II. Freshman RBs Brendon Haygood and Marquise Davis have also decided to jump ship, leaving the RB room’s depth thinner. Other players like Javion Hilson and freshman Henry Fenuku have also done the same, forcing Drinkwitz to find replacements fast.

Apart from that, the team is currently losing 12 starters to eligibility exhaustion or entering the NFL draft. Key offensive linemen Connor Tollison and RT Keagon Trost are among those. Plus, LB Josiah Trotter and DE Damon Wilson II could also move to the pros. Even offensive tackle Cayden Green is commanding high NFL interest and could depart Columbia earlier than expected.

The Tigers have hired offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey to take over playcalling duties. The offense has struggled in key games that also included a 6-17 loss to Oklahoma on the road. Factor in the 10-17 loss against Vanderbilt and the 24-27 loss against Alabama, and the offense seems to be the only problem. Currently, Drinkwitz is promising a rebuild, and most likely it will be through the transfer portal.

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The program’s 2026 class ranks 28th nationally, which is decent but not elite. Historically, the head coach has used the portal, and 19 of the players who took over 200 snaps in 2025 were transfer portal additions. In total, the program added 32 players through the portal this year. The foundation can still be high school recruiting, but the head coach will look to use the portal as he always does when it opens on January 2.