Mizzou football’s game vs. Vanderbilt postponed as first SEC match affected by COVID
The Missouri Tigers’ season continues to change by the day during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mizzou’s game Saturday against Vanderbilt this weekend has been postponed to Dec. 12, the SEC announced Monday. PowerMizzou first reported the postponement.
Vanderbilt had just 56 scholarship players active for its 41-7 loss to South Carolina last weekend, according to The Tennessean. That number is barely above the 53-player minimum the SEC set before the season started. Other requirements for a game to be played include at least one quarterback, seven offensive linemen and four defensive linemen. Otherwise, the game can be postponed.
The SEC said in its statement that the postponement was made because of positive COVID-19 tests and quarantine of individuals within the Vanderbilt program.
The game is the first SEC football contest since the league’s restart to be postponed because of the pandemic. Teams in the conference each have two off-weeks built into their 2020 schedules to accommodate such alterations. Mizzou’s midseason off-week was Nov. 7 while Vanderbilt’s was Oct. 24.
The Tigers were originally set to play Vanderbilt at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Faurot Field.
MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz went on the Paul Finebaum Show Monday to discuss his reaction to the news. The first-year coach said MU heard from its bus company that Vanderbilt had canceled reservations, which was “when we first got wind this wasn’t going to happen.”
Drinkwitz said he understands the decision, especially when it comes to COVID-19, adding it had been a whirlwind few hours.
“As more and more things transpired, we got word from the SEC office that Vanderbilt had fallen below the COVID threshold. We absolutely understand. We’ve been dealing with COVID just like everybody else. So our No. 1 priority is for everybody at Vanderbilt to be safe, the players to be safe.”
“These football contests can be made up. We’re going to use it as a positive for us here at Mizzou. We’ll use the week to get healthy. We’ll use the week to improve. We’ll use the week to get refocused on our academics. And then we’ll use the week to get ready for our next opponent after that, which will be Florida.”
Mizzou athletic director Jim Sterk said he knew it was a possibility that the game could be postponed because of the number of COVID-19 cases Vanderbilt has dealt with in recent days. He said he, too, heard the news Monday as the final decision and logistics all wrapped up within a matter of hours.
While the tentative plan is for the game to be scheduled for Dec. 12, Sterk mentioned the possibility of moving the game to Dec. 19, the same date as the SEC championship game. He said conference officials consider that to be another weekend when teams can re-schedule games.
“It’s not like people are intentionally doing it,” Sterk said of rescheduling. “The virus is a dangerous one as far as contagion. You can’t always predict what’s going to happen. Appreciate everyone trying to work together and try to get through this football season.”
Mizzou’s game against Vanderbilt was also homecoming, though the annual tradition was always going to look different during the pandemic. Sterk said some virtual homecoming activities will still happen Friday and Saturday, but all the royalty festivities will be postponed until Oct. 31, Mizzou’s next home game, against Kentucky. Sterk called it an “extended homecoming.”
Playing a football game Dec. 12 would potentially conflict with the same day’s “Border War” men’s basketball game against Kansas at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
“The basketball schedules are still in a flux,” Sterk said. “The Big 12 is having a couple of their conference games before Christmas. Should have a closure on that pretty quick.”
Sterk confirmed Drinkwitz’s comment about how they heard first from the bus company about Vanderbilt canceling. Then they heard from the SEC, he said, adding “Columbia is a small town,” so news gets around quick.
With no game Saturday, the Tigers’ next game is a road showdown against No. 10 Florida. It’ll be the fourth straight ranked opponent Mizzou plays to start the season. Sterk said unless local ordinances changes, they don’t plan to change the altered capacity at Memorial Stadium, which hosted 10,013 fans last weekend in the game against LSU.
Teams are getting tested three times a week during the season, per SEC rules, on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. A positive case can lead to teammates in quarantine because of contact tracing. Once teams can’t field a team with at least 53 scholarship athletes, postponement is on the table.
“It’s pretty orderly as far as the SEC keeping track of what’s going on,” Sterk said. “Then check with us a couple times during a week of a game too. It’s not just Monday, we’re testing three times during the week so they’re keeping up on all of that.”
Vanderbilt wasn’t the only team affected by COVID-19 over the weekend. Mizzou was missing seven players because of the virus in its win over LSU Saturday.
The Vanderbilt game marks the second week in a row that Mizzou’s seen a change in its schedule. The Tigers’ game against LSU was moved from Baton Rouge to Memorial Stadium in Columbia because Hurricane Delta was heading toward the Gulf Coast.
“While we share in the disappointment that this Saturday’s game will be postponed, our program is deeply appreciative of the tireless efforts put forth by student-athletes, university officials, conference administrators and medical experts who have risen to the challenge of helping us navigate these unprecedented circumstances,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said in a statement. “The safety and well-being of our student-athletes will remain a top priority as we continue the season, and we look forward to returning to competition.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2020 at 2:51 PM.