No. 8 Florida and No. 25 Missouri kicked off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri, in a ranked SEC meeting carried nationally on ABC. Florida arrived 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the SEC, chasing a fifth straight win to open the season. Missouri came in at 3-1 and 0-1 in league play, trying to steady itself one week after its first loss of the year.
The Gators came off a 52-28 win over Ole Miss and have built their start around running back Jadan Baugh, who entered the game with 600 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in four games, according to Sports Talk Florida. Baugh ran for 142 yards and three scores against the Rebels and was averaging 7.2 yards per carry. Quarterback Aaron Philo entered completing 72.4% of his passes for 917 yards, with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Florida's receiving corps was less settled going in: Vernell Brown III was listed as questionable with a knee injury and Bailey Stockton as questionable with a back injury, according to Hail Florida Hail's pregame injury report.
Missouri entered off a 31-24 loss at Mississippi State and with its own lineup questions. The Tigers were without running back Ahmad Hardy, who was ruled out before the game, and listed edge rushers Langden Kitchen and Darris Smith as questionable with lower-body injuries, according to both pregame reports. Hail Florida Hail also listed linebacker Bobby Washington Jr. as questionable. That left Missouri's front uncertain against a back with 11 rushing touchdowns in four games. Quarterback Austin Simmons gave the Tigers a steadier piece, entering with 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions, according to Sports Talk Florida.
Before kickoff, sportsbooks made Florida a 5.5-point road favorite with a moneyline near -205, according to Hail Florida Hail, a price that implies roughly a two-in-three chance of a Gators win. Prediction markets read the game much the same way once play began. Late in the first quarter, Polymarket gave Florida about a 64.5% chance of winning, leaving Missouri near 35.5%. Those odds will move with every possession, and for now they give the unbeaten visitor a clear but far from certain edge on the road in a hostile environment.
The result will shape both teams' place in the SEC race heading into mid-October. A Florida win would move the Gators to 3-0 in conference play and keep their unbeaten season intact for another week. A Missouri win would give the Tigers their first SEC victory of the season and pull them even in the league, while a loss would drop them to 0-2 in conference play and put early pressure on the rest of their schedule. The final is expected early Saturday evening Eastern time.
