Missouri football is preparing for an important homecoming matchup against Florida on Saturday, but the Tigers will enter the contest shorthanded on the defensive side of the ball. Missouri will be without both of its starting edge rushers, Darris Smith and Langden Kitchen.

ESPN insider Pete Thamel reported that Missouri will be missing both Smith and Kitchen against Florida on Saturday, with the two defensive contributors currently dealing with lower-body injuries. Their absences leave Missouri without two of its regular starters along the edge as the Tigers prepare for a difficult SEC matchup.

Kitchen suffered his lower-body injury early in Missouri’s previous game against Mississippi State. The edge rusher was forced to leave the game during the first quarter and was unable to return. Though Kitchen was initially listed as questionable on Missouri’s availability report earlier in the week, his status was eventually changed to out.

Kitchen had established himself as an important piece of Missouri’s defensive front during the opening four games of the season. He started each of those games and contributed eight tackles, three tackles for loss and eight pressures.

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Meanwhile, Smith’s injury occurred earlier in the season during Missouri’s Week 3 matchup against Troy. The experienced edge rusher suffered a lower-leg injury during that game, which has continued to keep him from returning to the lineup.

Smith entered the season as one of Missouri’s more experienced options along the defensive front. Before the injury, he appeared in three games and recorded five tackles.

Trying to slow down undefeated Florida’s high-powered offense without two of its starting pass rushers will present a significant challenge for head coach Eli Drinkwitz and his defensive staff. With Smith and Kitchen unavailable, Missouri will need its remaining defensive linemen and edge rushers to take on expanded roles and provide enough pressure to disrupt Florida’s offense.