Washington wouldn’t have been able to go if MU played last Saturday

Missouri senior wide receiver L’Damian Washington said he would not have been able to play Saturday had the Tigers not been on a bye.

Washington suffered a turf toe injury Nov. 9 on the first series in the third quarter at Kentucky and wore a boot until Sunday.

He said he expects to be able to play Saturday when No. 8 Missouri resumes its chase for the SEC East championship at Mississippi.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said he also expects Dorial Green-Beckham, who suffered a sprained ankle in the 48-17 win against the Wildcats, to play against the Rebels.

As expected, CBS chose the Iron Bowl — pitting No. 1 Alabama, 10-0, against No. 6 Auburn, 10-1 — for its 2:30 p.m. slot on Nov. 30.

That means Missouri’s regular-season finale against Texas A and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel will kick off at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN.

The Tigers must win at Mississippi on Saturday, a game that also kicks off at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN, and beat Manziel’s Aggies to win the SEC East and earn a berth in the conference title game Dec. 7 in Atlanta.

Missouri is offering a limited number of four-pack ticket specials for the Texas A game for $100. Fans can buy them at the Mizzou Arena ticket office or by calling 800-228-7297.

Despite missing all but three minutes of the first half Saturday against Hawaii, Missouri junior point guard Jordan Clarkson averaged 22.5 points and 3.5 assists last week and was chosen as SEC men’s basketball player of the week.

Clarkson had a career-high 31 points with five assists Tuesday in a win against Southern Illinois. He followed that effort with 13 points in 23 minutes against the Warriors.

It is Clarkson’s first conference award with the Tigers, who had the freshman of the week last week in Wes Clark. Clarkson was the Conference USA player of the week in January 2012 at Tulsa.

Missouri plays host to Gardner-Webb at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

This story was originally published November 18, 2013 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Washington wouldn’t have been able to go if MU played last Saturday."