SHREVEPORT, La. — Big changes are coming for the football programs at Missouri and North Carolina. Before they happen, there is one more game to play.

The Tigers and Tar Heels meet Monday in the Independence Bowl, and both teams have experience at juggling questions about their long-term future as they prepare for the game. Players and coaches are adamant the focus will be squarely on the field.

"We're expecting to play our best game," said Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, a former Washington Huskies offensive coordinator. "And we expect North Carolina to play their best game."

Not that there aren't reasons to be distracted.

North Carolina (7-5) is in the midst of a coaching change and Missouri (7-5) is preparing for its move to the Southeastern Conference after an acrimonious exit from the Big 12.

The Tar Heels endured more than their share of turmoil this season under interim coach Everett Withers, who took over in July after Butch Davis was fired shortly before preseason camp in the shadow of an NCAA investigation.

Withers was a candidate for the full-time job until last week, when North Carolina announced the hiring of Southern Mississippi coach Larry Fedora. Fedora takes over the program immediately after the bowl game and Withers is headed to Ohio State, where he will be the defensive coordinator for new coach Urban Meyer.

Withers' time is already divided. He said he spent part of his week making recruiting calls for the Buckeyes before turning his focus back to North Carolina's team.

"Each player has done an unbelievable job of holding this together to have the success that we've had the past two years," Withers said. "It's been remarkable. I haven't looked at it as tumultuous. I've looked at it as a life lesson — a journey — that you go through."

Coaching stability isn't an issue at Missouri, where Pinkel is wrapping up his 11th season with a program-record seventh consecutive bowl appearance. Instead, it is the move to the SEC that is a constant topic of conversation.

"There's no question about it — this is historically a big moment, with us playing our last game in the Big 12," Pinkel said. "That's kind of on my shoulders and on our players' shoulders. This game is important for many reasons, but it will be remembered specifically for that reason."

Missouri started with a 4-5 record before consecutive victories over Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas earned it the right to go to the Independence Bowl.

North Carolina started the season 5-1, but stumbled down the stretch, losing four of its last six.

Note

• Fifth-year senior quarterback Kirk Cousins of Michigan State wants to savor the last days of his college career. The No. 12 Spartans (10-3) face 18th-ranked Georgia (10-3) in the Jan. 2 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla.

Cousins has won more games than any quarterback in school history and is part of a senior class that has won more games than any in the program's 115 years. He is 26-12 in 38 career starts, and the senior class is 36-16 (.692).

"A lot of people doubted me and doubted my character, what was inside me," Cousins said. "The fact that I've been able to prove a lot of people wrong and accomplish more than most people thought I could has been very meaningful."

Cousins ranks first in school history in several categories, including touchdown passes (65).