Overview
- Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, with national TV coverage on ABC.
- Missouri is down 11 players for the bowl, including QB Beau Pribula (transfer portal), LB Josiah Trotter (knee) and TE Brett Norfleet (shoulder), and will operate without offensive coordinator Kirby Moore after his move to Washington State.
- All-American RB Ahmad Hardy, who led the SEC in rushing, needs 68 yards to break Missouri’s single-season record and is expected to headline a run-heavy approach.
- Virginia enters 10-3 seeking the program’s first 11-win season with QB Chandler Morris starting; opt-outs have been limited, though RB J’Mari Taylor’s status remains uncertain.
- Sportsbooks list Missouri by roughly 4 to 4.5 points, and the total has fallen from 50.5 to the mid‑40s following Pribula’s departure.