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COLUMBIA, Mo. — There are a couple questions that face a college football program when it comes to bowl games.

First: Who will they be playing? The answer for Missouri, of course, is the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Music City Bowl at 1:30 p.m. Monday in Nashville, Tennessee.

And second, now that the game is less than a week away: Who will be playing?

Bowl game opt-outs are common these days, and Mizzou will be dealing with some of them this year. The Tigers dodged that bullet at last year’s Cotton Bowl — opt-out attention was instead focused on Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. in the run-up to that game — but won’t have quite as much talent sticking around for the Music City Bowl.

Missouri will have three opt-outs who aren’t related to the transfer portal: wide receiver Luther Burden III, right tackle Armand Membou and middle linebacker Chuck Hicks.

Most players who have entered the transfer portal also won’t play, according to MU’s bowl week depth chart, including the Tigers’ group of freshmen who departed the program after just one season.

As of last week, MU expected to have only one player out due to injury: starting tight end Brett Norfleet. He underwent surgery “that needed to be done,� coach Eli Drinkwitz said, as soon as the regular season ended and will miss the bowl.

Norfleet battled through a surgery early in the season, so his absence won’t be entirely foreign to Missouri. Tight ends Jordon Harris and Tyler Stephens — the latter in his final collegiate game — will be the primary fill-ins.

Two Mizzou players have opted out after declaring early for the NFL Draft: Burden and Membou.

Once those two prospects announced that they’d be forgoing their senior seasons to enter the draft pool as early as possible, MU assumed they would not be participating in the bowl game. There’s a significant chance Burden and Membou wind up as first-round picks, so they have little to gain and a fair amount to lose in injury risk by playing in the bowl.

Mizzou will be getting used to life without Burden by turning to some of its younger receivers for the bowl game. Mookie Cooper, a wideout whose collegiate career is over after a season-ending surgery roughly a month ago, will also be out. Mekhi Miller and Courtney Crutchfield, who have entered the transfer portal, are not expected to play in the bowl.

That sets up Theo Wease Jr. to play a leading role in his final college game — something he never considered skipping.

“I don’t think opting out really crossed my mind,� Wease said. “I just think my love for the game, I get another opportunity to play football and I don’t take that for granted at all, you know?�

Wease, Joshua Manning, Marquis Johnson, Daniel Blood, James Madison II and Logan Muckey could wind up being the Tigers’ only available scholarship wideouts.

With Membou out, Missouri will likely give Mitchell Walters the start in his final game, though it could also turn to a younger lineman.

Hicks, who wrote on X that he opted out to spend more time with his wife and children, had seen his role decline near the end of the regular season, so his absence won’t create an especially drastic hole for the Tigers. Corey Flagg Jr. and Triston Newson will still be the starting linebackers, with more opportunities for the young returning core of Nicholas Rodriguez, Jeremiah Beasley and Brian Huff.

“We wish them well in their careers,� Drinkwitz said of Burden, Hicks and Membou. “They left the right way. We will definitely miss them, but it is an opportunity for other people to step up and play.�

An unofficial depth chart provided to media on Tuesday did not include the Mizzou players who have entered the transfer portal. Because of the exodus of freshmen who left the team after just one season, that means a handful of young players who might have been in line for action will instead not be playing in the bowl.

Having entered the portal, Crutchfield, Miller, running back Kewan Lacy, defensive end Williams Nwaneri, defensive end Jaylen Brown, linebacker Brayshawn Littlejohn and punter Orion Phillips were all removed from the depth chart.

“Some of the guys who have announced that they’re entering the transfer portal have decided to move on early and have left,� Drinkwitz said.

Iowa, for its part, won’t be immune to opt-outs either.

The Hawkeyes won’t have quarterback Cade McNamara available, though that had been the case near the end of the regular season following a concussion he suffered. Two of their better players — running back Kaleb Johnson and cornerback Jermari Harris — have declared for the NFL Draft and won’t play.