No. 10 Texas and No. 19 Missouri meet Saturday in Columbia with identical 6-2 records, identical 3-2 SEC marks, and nearly identical stakes: the winner stays in the College Football Playoff hunt, and the loser almost certainly falls out of it. Texas checked in at No. 7 in the first CFP rankings, Missouri at No. 18, so both teams have real ground to protect.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian points to his team’s three wins over current Top 25 opponents as evidence the Longhorns rise to the occasion, but the injury report is a concern. SEC sack leader Colin Simmons headlines a list that includes receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo, running back Hollywood Smothers and a pair of defensive backs. Missouri has mirrored that inconsistency, knocking off Florida and Texas A&M and routing Arkansas 34-10, while also blowing a late lead at Mississippi State and falling 31-3 to Ole Miss.

The matchup also carries history: this is Texas’s first trip to Columbia since 2011, and the Longhorns haven’t won there since October 2009. Mizzou’s Ahmad Hardy returned to the field last week after being shot as an innocent bystander outside a Mississippi concert over the summer, giving the Tigers an emotional lift. So who’s your pick Saturday — Texas’s talent or Missouri’s homefield edge?