The Dan Mullen era ended in Columbia, Missouri.
The Florida Gators, limping through a dismal 2021 season, faced the struggling Missouri Tigers and found a new way to lose. Florida lost 24-23 in overtime after the Tigers converted on a two-point conversion for the walk off victory.
Mullen was fired the next day.
The Missouri loss was Florida’s fourth-straight conference loss to end last season and the Mullen era in Gainesville. Under the Billy Napier regime, it’s been slow coming in the Southeastern Conference.
Florida lost its first two conference games of the season, falling to the Kentucky Wildcats at home with a flurry of offensive mistakes and coming up short on the road against the high-flying Tennessee Volunteers.
The Gators (3-2, 0-2 SEC) will look to break its six-game SEC losing streak when it hosts the Tigers (2-3, 0-2 SEC) Saturday afternoon. It’s also homecoming weekend in the Swamp, further adding to the festivities of Saturday’s game.
“[We’re] obviously excited about being homecoming this weekend,” Napier said. “Certainly for our team a great opportunity to represent all the people that came before us.”
There will also be a homecoming of sorts on the field for Missouri linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper. He spent three seasons in Gainesville and had a breakout season last year registering a career-high 65 tackles. Ironically, Hopper set a career-high with 12 tackles against his current team.
Hopper transferred to Missouri after the coaching change and currently leads the Tigers with 26 tackles and 7 tackles for loss.
“That's my boy,” Florida linebacker Ventrell Miller said. “Just seeing him [and] how he's developed, [I’m] just happy for him and want him to keep going.”
Missouri enters Saturday’s game off the back of arguably its best performance of the season — albeit a losing effort. The Tigers fell to the Georgia Bulldogs, who were the No. 1 team in the country at the time, and led the reigning national champions until 4:03 in the fourth quarter. A late game-winning touchdown allowed the Bulldogs to escape the upset attempt.
“I think what it's a reminder of is in this league you got to be ready to play every week,” Napier said. “There's no easy outs here.”
It was the Tigers second one-score loss in as many weeks, after losing a bizarre game against the Auburn Tigers the week before; Missouri missed a game-winning chip-shot field goal and fumbled the ball out of the endzone in overtime.
Missouri’s only wins are against Louisiana Tech of Conference USA and FCS school Abilene Christian. The Tigers were also blown out by now-No. 20 Kansas State 40-12 in early September.
Despite the record, there are reasons for optimism for Missouri under third-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz. The Tigers nearly upset the No.1 team in the county and boast a few bonafide star players and prospects throughout the roster, including Hopper.
Missouri’s offense, orchestrated by Drinkwitz, has had its struggles this season. Quarterback Brady Cook is in his first year as the starting quarterback, averaging just more than 200 passing yards per game with four touchdowns and four interceptions.
Despite the average quarterback play, the Tigers have weapons at the skill positions. Senior running back Nathaniel Peat leads the team with 258 rushing yards and sophomore receiver Dominic Lovett leads all pass catchers with 376 yards.
The Tigers also boast one of the top offensive prospects in the country in freshman Luther Burden. He was the highest-ranked player to ever sign with Missouri according to the 247Sports composite rankings and makes plays all over the field.
“I think Eliah does a fantastic job on offense,” Napier said. “Creative, really good play-caller, a good game planner, for sure.”
Many of Florida’s players still remember last season’s loss to the Tigers and are looking to wash away that dismal afternoon at Faurot Field.
“I really say we have that sick taste in our mouth,” redshirt junior receiver Justin Shorter said. “We're going to come here, play by play, give it 100%.”
The game is scheduled to kick off at noon Saturday inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The matchup will broadcast on ESPNU.
Contact Topher Adams at tadams@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Topher_Adams.
Topher Adams is a fourth-year communications major and in his fourth semester with the Alligator. He previously covered football, baseball and women's basketball. He also enjoys professional lacrosse and Major League Soccer.
