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Additional positive test led to postponement of Mizzou/Georgia game

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For the second time this season, Missouri has had a game postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. This time, Saturday’s contest against Georgia was delayed due to numbers on Missouri’s roster. The Tigers had one positive test on Sunday, which led to a number of players at one position group being placed in contact tracing. There was still hope on Tuesday. night that the game could be played, but the Tigers then had an additional positive from Tuesday's round of testing.

“We got our test results from yesterday back and it just continued to compound the same issue that we were facing,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “Once you get below a number, we submit it every week, we highlighted we were below a number and we had to be very careful moving forward because of where we were.

“We just got to the point where for the sake of player safety and our threshold, you take your emotions out of it and say this is what everybody’s deemed to be safe and go from there.”

"I’ve spoken to Friday being my hold my breath moment," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. "Reality is we have those throughout the week. Anything can change on relatively short notice. I’ve been intentional about saying you wait to make major decisions. I don’t know if week to week games are major decisions, they certainly seem like it right now. You wait as long as possible."

Wednesday morning became as long as the SEC and Missouri could wait.

Missouri did not specify which position fell under the recommended numbers from the league. The only three positions which have requirements are quarterback (must have one available), offensive linemen (seven) and defensive linemen (four). PowerMizzou.com was told that the Tigers had more than the 53 total players needed to play the game, but a spokesman said the team missed one positional guideline by one individual.

Missouri had one offensive lineman (Dylan Spencer and one defensive lineman (Markell Utsey) who were set to serve a first half suspension against the Bulldogs. But the spokesman and Drinkwitz both said that the suspensions “made no difference” in the numbers for the Tigers.

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Those suspensions will now carry over to Mizzou’s next game at South Carolina on Nov. 21. SEC protocols state that any player found to be a close contact (within six feet of an individual who tested positive for more than 15 minutes) must quarantine for 14 days. The Tigers are optimistic they will be in position to play that game as scheduled if things remain as they are today. There are four more scheduled rounds of testing between now and the game against South Carolina.

“We test every three days and every three days you get a new set of problems and issues that may arise,” Drinkwitz said. “The plan is to do everything possible to play at South Carolina. That will be our goal and intention.

“We will do everything in our power to play and should have guys back to play.”

The makeup date for the game against Georgia is in flux. The Tigers’ previously postponed game against Vanderbilt has already been pushed to Dec. 12, which was the universal open date the SEC set aside for COVID related issues. That means the only date for the Tigers and Bulldogs to play, barring mass schedule changes, is Dec. 19, the day of the SEC Championship Game. The league has said teams not involved in the title game could make up games on that Saturday. Georgia currently trails Florida by one game in the SEC East standings and the Gators hold the tiebreaker based on a head-to-head win last weekend. That means UGA would have to finish with a better record than Florida to qualify for the title game, which looks unlikely.

"You’re troubled by what’s happened this week with our postponements," Sankey said. "There’s still an opportunity to focus on the 19th which is my focus, but we have to adjust further within our programs. I’m certainly shaken, but not deterred.

"There are plenty of scheduling suggestions on Twitter. I don’t run the league based on Twitter, just so you know."

Sankey said he has not had discussions with coaches or teams about December 19th, preferring to focus on the more immediate future for now. Meanwhile, Mizzou practices with the players it has available and begins to build toward the South Carolina game in ten days. The Tigers will now hold a practice on Saturday with the available players rather than the game while trying to keep the quarantined players as engaged as possible and back on the roster as soon as possible.

“Zoom meetings is number one and then you have individual workout plans for them,” Drinkwitz said. “They’re able to watch tape on their own on their iPads, they’re able to have a workout with our strength coach giving them a workout so they can do it on their own. This isn’t new. This has been going on.”

For now, Drinkwitz simply slogs through another obstacle in a first year that has been full of them.

“Disappointed for our players, our coaches, our fans, our organization; you work so hard to have opportunities to participate,” he said. “You’ve just got to be resilient and move forward. You know, this too shall pass.”

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